Week in Review: A blast from the past
Alekna's world records trigger memory of Wilkins' historic win in 1976 AAU Champs
Thanks to Mykolas Alekna’s world record performance in the men’s discus on Sunday, I was reminded of one of my fondest track and field memories.
When Cal junior Alekna twice raised the world record — first to 74.89 meters (245 feet 8 inches) on his initial effort and then to 75.56 (247-11) on his fourth — in the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma, the 22-year-old Lithuanian became the first man to have set multiple global bests in the event in the same meet since May 1, 1976. It was on that day nearly half a century ago that American Mac Wilkins set world records on each of his first three throws in the San Jose Invitational in San Jose, California.
Wilkins might be best remembered for that world record spree or for winning the 1976 Olympic title in Montreal. But I always smile when I recall his performance in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Championships at UCLA on June 11 of that year.
Wilkins did not set a world record on that sunny Friday afternoon at Drake Stadium, but he did produce what was then the greatest series in the history of the event.
Wilkins had raised his world record from 69.16 (226-11) to 70.86 (232-6) during his historic meet in San Jose while benefitting from a strong breeze that served to keep the discus airborne longer than usual, thus resulting in longer throws.
Conditions were not as advantageous in the AAU meet, yet the average distance of his six throws was 69.23 (227-1), more than a foot and a half longer than his 68.75 (225-6) average in San Jose.
Wilkins, with his long dark hair, beard, and mustache, began his series at UCLA with a throw of 68.63 (225-2) before following that with efforts of 68.30 (224-1) in the second round and 69.49 (228-0) in the third.
Then came throws of 69.69 (228-8) in the fourth round, 70.10 (230-0) in the fifth, and 69.16 (226-11) in the sixth for the fierce competitor who would win 35 of an astounding 37 meets that year.
His 70.10 effort was the third longest in history at the time and the 69.69 and 69.49 throws were the No. 5 and 6 marks ever, with the 69.16 being tied for the seventh best. But what I remember most about his performance was that Wolfman Mac, as he was affectionately known, held me and the 5,000-plus other fans in thrall during the competition.
The throws rarely get as much attention as track events and do not often captivate an entire stadium of spectators. But on that day, Wilkins grew increasingly animated and began interacting with the crowd.
The discus cage stood at one end of the infield near the only set of grandstands, so only about 30 yards — the width of track at the second turn plus a narrow strip of grass — separated thrower from fans.
I can still hear in my mind the voice of veteran public address announcer Stan Eales, well-known to West Coast track fans, letting us know the distances of Wilkins’ first two throws and signaling we might be witnessing something special and historic.
The atmosphere was electric. Spectators yelled and cheered each time he approached the cage, but as soon as he entered the circle, silence descended. With his every spin and release, a roar went up from the crowd, soared with the disc, and landed with thunderous ovation as Wilkins pumped his fists in celebration.
As Track & Field News noted in its July 1976 issue, it was the “Mac Wilkins show” after the second round.
The magazine reported: “Warming to the suddenly adulatory public, Wilkins took time to wave and smile at the crowd, raising them to a frenzy. No. 3 went 228-0. No. 4 was better yet, 228-8. And No. 5 was the best of all, 230-0, the No. 3 performance in history. By this time, Wilkins had taken to pounding on the cage prior to his throws, just to get the crowd a little jacked up. On No. 5, he even stopped his spin and began again, then commented, ‘Jeez, I can’t do anything wrong today. They go far no matter what I do.’ Throw No. 6 was an anti-climatic 226-11, but it mattered little. Wilkins had shown what he could do and the crowd responded in a unique manner, giving him a standing ovation. That’s right—for a discus thrower. Announcer Stan Eales had done a superb job keeping them informed of just what they were seeing. So Mac got his due.”
And I got one of the favorite memories of my 50-plus years as a track and field fan.
World record repeat: For the second year in a row, Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania took advantage of superb throwing conditions to raise the world record in the men’s discus in the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma, on Sunday.
As mentioned previously, the Cal junior set his first world record of the competition with a first-round effort of 74.89 (245-8) and his second global best came in the fourth round when he unleashed a monstrous throw of 75.56 (247-10). He fouled on his four other attempts.
Alekna had raised the world record to 74.35 (243-11) last year while topping the global best of 74.08 (243-0) that had been set by Jurgen Schult of East Germany in 1986.
“It was a great day,” Cal throws coach Mohamad Saatara wrote in a text on Sunday. “Preparations have been superb and he’s built up very well. It was a great competition with great energy and support.”
Statistically speaking, it was the greatest discus competition in history as Matt Denny of Australia finished second with a throw of 74.78 (245-4) that was better than Alekna’s pre-meet world record of 74.35 (243-11).
While Denny’s mark topped his Oceania record of 74.25 (243-7) that he had set in in a meet at the same Millican Field at Throw Town facility in Ramona on Thursday of last week, the next three performers also bettered 70 meters (229-8).
Sam Mattis of the U.S. finished third at 71.27 (233-10), followed by Clemens Prufer of Germany at 71.01 (232-11) and Lawrence Okoye of Great Britain at 70.76 (232-2) in the first meet in history in which more than three men had thrown 70 meters or farther.
Mattis moved to second on the all-time U.S. list with his effort and Prufer now stands at fourth on the all-time German performer list.
Okoye added two and a half meters to the British record of 68.24 (223-10) that he had set in 2012.
Despite Alekna’s record effort last year, Saatara texted that his charge did not enter Sunday’s meet intent on bettering that mark.
“Our mindset is always to stick to our plan,” Saatara wrote. “We never chase any marks or distances. We just go forward and see what we can do on that day.
“The world record is always there so we’re aware of it, but we don’t talk about any of that. We just go and compete.”
Alekna, who finished a scant three centimeters behind gold medalist Roje Stona of Jamaica in the Olympic Games in Paris last summer, is scheduled to graduate with an undergraduate degree in psychology next month. He will then embark on a professional career in which he hopes to rival or top the performances of his father, Virgilijus, who won Olympic gold medals in 2000 and 2004, and World titles in 2003 and 2005.
In addition to those victories, Virgilijus was the top-ranked discus thrower in the world seven times by Track & Field News and he also threw 70 meters or farther in a record 20 meets during his career.
Mykolas has already bettered 70 meters in eight meets during his career, even though he will not turn 23 until September.
His dad also had an unprecedented eight seasons during his career in which he threw 70 meters or farther. His final 70-meter season came in 2012, when he recorded a best of 70.28 (230-7) at the age of 40.
Impressive numbers: Looking for further proof of how great the conditions were in the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma, on Sunday?
Consider that Mika Sosna of Germany won the second section of the competition with a best of 70.01 (229-8), Mauricio Ortega of Colombia took the third at 69.00 (226-4), and Robbie Otal of the U.S. placed first in the fourth with a personal best of 68.41 (224-5).
Sosna had started the week with a personal best of 68.96 (226-3) before raising that mark to 70.05 (229-10) while placing third behind Matt Denny of Australia (74.25/243-7) and Sam Mattis of the U.S. (70.08/229-11) in a meet at the same facility last Thursday.
Mattis entered last week with a personal best of 68.74 (225-6).
That’s more like it: After winning the women’s discus in an Oklahoma Throws Series meet at the end of March with an underwhelming performance, two-time Olympic champion Valarie Allman of the U.S. moved to fifth on the all-time performer list with a 73.52 (241-2) effort at the same Millican Field at Throw Town facility last Saturday.
That effort crushed Allman’s previous U.S. record of 71.46 (234-5) that she had set in 2022 and it was the longest throw in the world since the 1989 season.
It also came in a competition in which 2023 World champion Lagi Tausaga finished second at 70.72 (232-0) and fellow American Veronica Fraley placed third at 68.72 (225-5).
Tausaga’s throw bettered her previous best of 69.49 (228-0) while strengthening her hold on the No. 2 spot on the all-time U.S. performer list and Fraley moved from ninth to fifth after entering the meet with a best of 67.17 (220-4).
Allman, who had thrown 63.61 (208-8) in winning the competition in Ramona on March 30, opened her series on Saturday with a season best of 69.52 (228-1) before following that with a 65.01 (213-3) effort in the second round. She then unleashed her 73.52 (241-2) blast in the third round that surpassed the 73.09 (239-9) meet and North American record that Yaime Perez of Cuba had set last year.
Allman’s final three throws measured 66.71 (218-10), 68.10 (223-5), and 70.16 (230-2) in a competition in which Perez placed fourth at 66.96 (219-8).
It was the 18th consecutive victory for Allman since Tausaga upset her for the 2023 World title in Budapest, Hungary.
In a post on Instagram, Allman’s coach/fiancee Zeb Sion posted three different videos of what he called her “wind PB.” He then wrote that “Perspective is so important and categorizing performances fairly is healthy for any athlete. So for us, here are a few of Valarie’s PBs:
73.52m - Wind PB
71.46m - Neutral Conditions PB
71.16m - Stadium PB
70.47m - Meet with no Coach PB
69.59m - Global Championship PB
Another long throw: Valarie Allman, Lagi Tausaga, and Veronica Fraley weren’t the only women to have taken advantage of the superb conditions in Ramona last Saturday as senior Jayden Ulrich of the University of Louisville moved to second on the all-time collegiate list when she won the second section with a throw of 69.39 (227-8).
Ulrich’s effort crushed her previous best of 66.14 (217-0) set last month and broke the American collegiate record of 67.17 (220-4) set by Fraley when she was a senior at Vanderbilt last year.
It also moved Ulrich to third on the all-time U.S. performer list.
Ulrich hit her big throw on her first attempt of the competition before fouling on her two following efforts. She then produced a 63.16 (207-3) mark in the fourth round before fouling in the fifth, and throwing 65.38 (214-6) in the sixth.
More big throws: The winds that can aid performances in the discus are generally not strong enough to influence marks in the hammer throw due to the fact that a men’s or women’s hammer implement is basically four times as heavy as a discus. But Rachel Richeson (nee Tanczos) nonetheless produced a huge effort in winning the women’s hammer in the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma, last Saturday.
The 25-year-old Richeson’s winning mark of 78.80 (258-6) was the longest throw in the world this year and crushed her previous best of 74.82 (245-5) from last year while moving her to fifth on the all-time world performer list and to third on the all-time U.S. list.
It also left her well ahead of second-place Katerine Koch Jacobsen of Denmark, who had a best of 73.67 (241-8).
Richeson, who placed fourth in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last year, fouled on her first attempt on Saturday before throwing 70.39 (230-11), 72.59 (238-2), and 74.25 (243-7) during the next three rounds.
She then uncorked her 78.80 (258-6) effort in the fifth round before capping her series with a 76.41 (250-8) mark in the sixth round that was the second-longest throw of her career.
Quick opener: Bryce Deadmon of the U.S. won the men’s 400 meters in a yearly world-leading time of 44.30 seconds in the 44 Farms Team Invitational in College Station, Texas, last Saturday.
Deadmon, who had finished fifth in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last year, finished well ahead of USC junior William Jones, who placed second in 45.09.
The time was the third-fastest of Deadmon’s career and his fastest-ever season opener for the 28-year-old quarter-miler who ran the third leg on U.S. teams that won the men’s 4 x 400 relay and finished second in the mixed 4 x 400 relay in the Olympic Games last summer.
Fast Five: USC displayed superb depth in the men’s 100 meters when the Trojans swept the first five places in the seventh section of the event in the 44 Farms Team Invitational in College Station, Texas, last Saturday.
Max Thomas won the 100 in a wind-aided 9.92 seconds, with fellow junior Garrett Kaalund finishing second in 9.93. They were followed by sophomore Eddie Nketia in 9.96, senior Travis Williams in 10.07, and junior JC Stevenson in 10.13.
For good measure, USC senior Taylor Banks won the sixth section of the 100 in 10.15.
Earlier in the meet, Jamaican Williams, Thomas, Kaalund, and New Zealander Nketia had clocked a winning 38.41 in the 4 x 100 relay while finishing more than a second ahead of Virginia Tech, which placed second in 39.45.
USC is coming off an undercover season in which the men’s team won its first NCAA indoor title since 1972.
Finishing strong: Sofia Iakushina of host Texas A&M University moved from third place to first on the second day of competition to win the heptathlon in the 44 Farms Team Invitational.
Iakushina, a freshman from Russia, totaled a personal best of 6,260 points to finish 31 points in front of Notre Dame senior Jadin O’Brien, who placed second with a score of 6,231.
Timara Chapman of the U.S., who finished fifth in the pentathlon in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, last month, was in first place after the long jump on Saturday, but she dropped to third behind Iakushina and O’Brien after a subpar performance in the javelin and she did not start the 800 meters, the final event of the seven-event endeavor.
Iakushina’s 6,260-point performance was the best in the world this year, an NCAA freshman record, and moved her to 10th on the all-time collegiate performer list. It also came four weeks after O’Brien had finished 184 points in front of her while winning her third consecutive pentathlon title in the NCAA indoor championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Iakushina had posted marks of 13.51 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, 1.74 (5-8½) in the high jump, 11.85 (38-10½) in the shot put, and 23.48 in the 200 on the first day while while totaling 3,634 points.
That left her 69 points behind Chapman at 3,705 and 42 back of O’Brien at 3,676.
However, she closed to within four points of first-place Chapman after spanning a wind-aided 6.40 (21-0) in the long jump.
She then took a 31-point lead over second-place O’Brien when she threw a personal best of 43.07 (141-3) in the javelin and her 2:12.72 clocking in the 800 was nearly as fast as O’Brien’s 2:12.56.
Although Iakushina set personal bests in the 100 hurdles, 200, and javelin during the competition, she was particularly excited about her performance in the 200.
“That [200m] was insane for me,” she said in a thebatt.com post. “I wasn’t expecting that. I was expecting a PR, but a sub-24, maybe 23.80, maybe 23.90, but 23.48, I wasn’t expecting because I was so tired, and this heat really killed me yesterday and today. I’m not used to this. I don’t know what happened, but it was good.”
Nice opener: Akani Simbine of South Africa dominated what was supposed to be a close race in the men’s 100 meters in the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in the Botswanan capital of Gaborone last Saturday.
The race had billed as a showdown between Simbine and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, but the 31-year-old South African came out of the blocks ahead of Omanyala, gave up some ground to the Kenyan during the middle part of the race, and then pulled away during the final 25 meters of the contest.
Simbine’s time of 9.90 seconds was the fastest in the world this year, as well as the fastest season opener of his career. It also left him a tenth of a second in front of second-place Omanyala, who ran 10.00, and .25 seconds up on third-place Retshiditswe Mlenga of South Africa, who clocked 10.15.
Simbine had run a national record of 9.82 while finishing fourth in the Olympic Games in Paris last summer and he capped his undercover season this year by winning the bronze medal in the 60 in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, on March 21.
His Instagram account included the following post: Thank you for the love Botswana 🇧🇼 🩵
First win of season for Olympic champion: Letsile Tebogo of Botswana posted his first victory of the season when he clocked a very easy-looking 20.23 seconds in the first section of the men’s 200 meters in the Botswana Golden Grand Prix.
Tebogo, who had won the Olympic title in the 200 in an African record of 19.46, did not run a good turn in Saturday’s race, but he took the lead with about 70 meters to go before easing up during the final 15-20 meters of the contest that had a wind reading of negative 1.6 meters per second.
Luxolo Adams of South Africa finished second in 20.42, followed by Kobe Vieminckx of Belgium, who placed third in 20.45 after leading the race entering the home straightaway.
In a bit of a surprise, the top two finishers in the second section posted faster times than the 21-year-old Tebogo as Sinesipho Dambile of South Africa and Collen Kebinatshipi of Botswana clocked personal bests of 20.01 and 20.13, respectively, while running into a breeze of 1.8 meters per second in the home straightaway.
Kebinatshipi ranks fourth on Botswana’s all-time performer list in the 400 with a best of 44.22 and he also ran a 43.49 second leg on a Botswanan foursome that won the silver medal in the 4 x 400 relay in the Olympic Games when its 2:54.53 clocking left it a tenth of the second behind a U.S. squad whose 2:54.43 effort was the second fastest ever run.
Barrier breaker: Oratile Nowe of Botswana continued to break barriers in the 800 meters when her winning time of 1:58.96 in the Botswana Golden Grand Prix made her the first woman from her country to have broken 1:59 in the two-lap race.
The 24-year-old Nowe, who is also the only Botswanan woman to have run under 2:00, 2:01, and 2:02, held the national record at 1:59.69 at the start of the year. However, she has now run 1:59.46, 1:59.22, and 1:58.96 in her last three races.
Nowe was at the front of a tightly-bunched lead group for the first 600 meters of Saturday’s race, but she expanded her lead in the final home straightaway to finish half a second in front of second-place Sarah Moraa of Kenya, who ran 1:59.46, and more than a second ahead of third-place Charne Swart of South Africa, who timed 2:00.01.
Big week for teen sensation: Australian sprinter Gout Gout, who turned 17 in December, won the national U20 title in the men’s 100 meters and the national senior title in the 200 in a pair of meets in Perth last week.
On Thursday, Gout ran a wind-aided 9.99 seconds in the final of the 100 in the U20 championships after also clocking a wind-aided 9.99 in a qualifying heat earlier in the day.
The wind reading for the heat was 3.5 meters per second and the reading for the final was 2.2. The wind reading cannot not be higher than 2.0 meters per second in order for a performance to be eligible for record or personal best purposes.
On Sunday, Gout ran a wind-aided 19.84 in the final of the 200 in the senior championships after clocking 20.21 in a qualifying heat earlier in the day.
The wind reading for the final was 2.2 meters per second.
Lachlan Kennedy, who had defeated Gout in the 200 in the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne on March 29, had advanced to the final of the 200, but he was disqualified for a false start.
Gout has personal bests of 10.17 in the 100 and 20.04 in the 200.
Two-liners: Bayapo Ndori of Botswana won his fifth 400-meter race of the outdoor season without a loss when he clocked a season best of 44.35 seconds in the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in the Botswanan capital of Gaborone last Saturday. The time was the second fastest of Ndori’s career and puts him third on the yearly world performer list behind Americans Bryce Deadmon at 44.30 and Christopher Bailey at 44.34. . . . . . . Kethobogile Haingura of Botswana won his fifth 800-meter race of the outdoor season without a loss in the Botswana Golden Grand Prix. Haingura ran 1:44.18 after having run 1:43.88 — the fastest outdoor time in the world this year — and 1:44.00 in his two previous races on March 19 and April 4, respectively.
Long time coming: Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won the third marathon of his career and his first since 2019 when he clocked 2 hours 4 minutes 33 seconds in the Rotterdam Marathon in the Netherlands on Sunday.
The 32-year-old Kamworor broke out of a four-runner lead pack shortly after 35 kilometers and ended up finishing comfortably in front of runner-up Chala Regasa, who placed second in 2:05:06.
Fellow Ethiopian Chimdessa Debele finished third in 2:05:26, followed by Kenyan Kennedy Kimutai in 2:05:27.
Kamworor had been victorious in the New York City Marathon in 2017 and ‘19, but he had finished fourth, 18th, fifth, second, and fifth in his five marathons since then.
The World cross country champion in 2015 and ‘17 was among a pack of 11 runners when he went through the first 10 kilometers in 29:31 on Sunday and he was one of nine when he clocked 59:04 at 20 kilometers and 1:02:21 at the halfway mark.
The lead group was down to Kamworor, Debele, Kimutai, and Regasa when Kamworor passed 30 kilometers in 1:28:24, but Kamworor made his break shortly after 25 kilometers and he was 22 seconds ahead of Regasa and 45 up on Debele and Kimutai when he came through 40 kilometers in 1:57:57.
“I’m so happy,” Kamworor said in a World Athletics post. “It was windy but I’m happy to have made the best of it.”
The women’s race was won by Kenyan Jackline Cherono, whose personal best of 2:21:14 left her a minute in front of Ethiopian Aminet Ahmed, who finished second in 2:22:14.
She was followed by compatriots Azmera Gebru, who ran 2:22:15, and Tiruye Mesfin, who timed 2:22:27.
The 26-year-old Cherono was amongst a lead group of six women when she came through 10 kilometers in 32:50, but she was two seconds ahead of Gebru and three up on Ahmed and Mesfin when she clocked 1:05:37 at 20 kilometers.
She was four seconds ahead of that trio when she passed the halfway mark in 1:09:14 and her advantage had grown to 41 seconds when she came through 30 kilometers in 1:38:28. It was a minute larger when she timed 2:12:59 at 40 kilometers.
Cherono’s time of 2:21:14 bettered her previous best of 2:21:40 that she had first set in finishing fourth in the Hamburg Marathon in Germany last April and then tied in placing second in the Kosice Marathon in Slovakia in October.
Notable second victories: Bernard Biwott of Kenya and Bedatu Hirpa of Ethiopia won the men’s and women’s titles, respectively, in the Paris Marathon on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Biwott ran a personal best of 2:05:25 while finishing well ahead of Ibrahim Hassan, who placed second in a Djboutian record of 2:06:13. He was followed by Sila Kiptoo of Kenya, who finished third in 2:06:21.
It was the second victory in as many marathons for Biwott as he had run a winning 2:05:54 in his marathon debut in Frankfurt, Germany, last October.
The 25-year-old Hirpa won the women’s race in Paris after breaking away from compatriot Dera Dida during the latter stages of the contest as her 2:20:45 clocking left her four seconds ahead of Dida at 2:20:49. Kenyan Angela Tanui finished third in 2:21:07.
Hirpa’s victory came three months after she had run a personal best of 2:18:27 in winning the Dubai Marathon in the United Arab Emirates and it was her fourth victory in her last five marathons.
Big names stand out: Nadia Battocletti of Italy and Jimmy Gressier of France each won their respective races in the inaugural European Running Championships held in Leuven, Belgium, last weekend.
Battocletti, the Olympic silver medalist in the women’s 10,000 meters, won the 10-kilometer race on Sunday with a personal best of 31:10 a day after she had turned 25. She finished 15 seconds ahead of second-place Eva Dieterich of Germany, who ran a personal best of 31:25.
Gressier, 27, won the men’s half marathon last Saturday in a personal best of 59:45 while finishing nearly a minute and a half in front of second-place Awet Nftalem Kibrab of Norway, who ran 61:08.
Gressier is coming off an indoor track season in which he set a European record of 12:54.92 in the short track 5,000 meters while moving to eighth on the all-time performer list.
Other winners in the two-day meet were Yann Schrub of France in the men’s 10,000 (personal best of 27:37), Iliass Aouani of Italy in the men’s marathon (2:09:05), Chloe Herbiet of Belgium in the women’s half marathon (70:43), and Fatima Ouhaddou of Spain (2:27:14) in the women’s marathon.
Schrub won the men’s title in the 2023 European Athletics Cross Country Championships.
South American sweep: Paula Torres of Ecuador and Caio Bonfim of Brazil were victorious in the women’s and men’s 20-kilometer races, respectively, in the Grande Premio Internacional de Rio Maior in Rio Maior, Portugal, last Saturday.
The 24-year-old Torres clocked 1:29:37 to finish 15 seconds ahead of second-place Kimberly Garcia of Peru, who timed 1:29:52, and more than two and a half minutes in front of third-place Laura Garcia-Caro of Spain, who timed 1:32:18.
Garcia, winner of the 20k and 35k walks in the 2022 World championships in Eugene, Oregon, had opened up a three-second lead on Torres and Garcia-Caro at the six-kilometer point in the race. But Torres was nipping at her heels at the end of 14 kilometers and it was the Ecuadorean who soon had a three-second advantage over Garcia.
That gap remained the same until the final lap when Torres picked up the pace and left Garcia behind.
Bonfim, the silver medalist in last year’s Olympic Games, clocked 1:20:47 in winning the men’s 20k race while finishing well in front of second-place Perseus Karlstrom of Sweden in 1:21:26. Callum Wilkinson of Great Britain finished third in 1:24:08.
The 34-year-old Bonfim was among a three-man trio that went through three kilometers in 11:57, but he had opened up a gap on Karlstrom and Gianluca Picchiottino of Italy four kilometers later.
However, Karlstrom soon closed that gap and he and Bonfim went through 10 kilometers in 40:02 and 15 kilometers in 60:19.
Bonfim proceeded to take a nine-second lead during the next one-kilometer loop and Karlstrom fell further and further behind after that.
Looking ahead: Hellen Obiri of Kenya and Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia will be back to defend their titles when the 129th edition of the Boston Marathon is held on April 21 (Monday).
The men’s professional race will start at 9:37 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time, followed by the start of the women’s professional race at 9:47.
Obiri won her second consecutive Boston title last year when she pulled away from compatriot Sharon Lokedi late in the race. She then finished third in the Olympic Games in Paris in August and second in the New York City Marathon in November.
Lokedi will also return on Monday after finishing fourth in the Olympic Games and ninth in New York City.
Ethiopians Amane Beriso and Yalemzerf Yehualaw, and Kenyan Irene Cheptai are expected to be three of the other top contenders.
Beriso, whose personal best of 2:14:58 makes her the fifth-fastest woman in history, placed second behind Obiri in the Boston Marathon in 2023 before winning the World Athletics Championships in August of that year. She then finished third in the Tokyo Marathon in March of last year before placing fifth in the Olympics.
Yehualaw won the Amsterdam Marathon in 2:16:52 last October a week after Cheptai ran a personal best of 2:17:51 to finish third in the Chicago Marathon.
Defending men’s champion Lemma ran a personal best of 2:01:48 in winning the Valencia Marathon in Spain in December of 2023. But a leg injury forced him to withdraw from the Olympic Games and he finished 10th in Valencia last December.
Kenyans John Korir and Evans Chebet are the next two fastest entrants in the field with personal bests of 2:02:44 and 2:03:00, respectively.
Korir ran his personal best in winning the Chicago Marathon last October after finishing fourth in the Boston Marathon.
Chebet is a supervet who placed second in the New York City Marathon in November after placing third in the Boston race last April. Prior to that, he won Boston in 2023 and placed first in both the Boston and New York City marathons in 2022.