2013 Boston Marathon
The 2013 Boston Marathon was the 117th running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States, which took place on April 15, 2013. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), it hosted the second of the World Marathon Majors to be held in 2013 with over 23,000 runners participating. Lelisa Desisa won the men's race with a time of 2:10:22, and Rita Jeptoo won the women's with a time of 2:26:25. Hiroyuki Yamamoto won the men's wheelchair race in 1:25:32 and Tatyana McFadden won the women's in 1:45:25.
2013 Boston Marathon
April 15
Lelisa Desisa (2:10:22)
Rita Jeptoo (2:26:25)
Hiroyuki Yamamoto (1:25:33)
Tatyana McFadden (1:45:25)
The event was disrupted and largely overshadowed by a terrorist attack in which two consecutive explosions on the sidewalk, near the finish line, killed three spectators and injured hundreds of others. The competition was suspended and many runners were unable to participate in the remainder of the competition. The attack received widespread international media attention.
Field[edit]
The fastest competitor in the women's race was Meseret Hailu who had run 2:21:09 to win the 2012 Amsterdam Marathon and 1:08:55 to win the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.[6] 2011 Frankfurt Marathon winner Mamitu Daska, runner-up at the 2012 Berlin Marathon Tirfi Tsegaye, and winner of the 2012 Chicago Marathon Rita Jeptoo were also racing.[6] 2012 champion Sharon Cherop returned to defend her title.[7] Reigning wheelchair champions Joshua Cassidy and Shirley Reilly returned to defend their titles in their respective categories.[8]
Wesley Korir returned to defend his 2012 title in the men's race. He had most recently finished fifth in the 2012 Chicago Marathon.[9] Also competing were 2013 Dubai Marathon winner Lelisa Desisa, 2012 Boston Marathon runner-up Levy Matebo Omari, 2011 Los Angeles Marathon winner Markos Geneti, 2011 New York City Marathon winner Gebre Gebremariam, and 2010 Boston Marathon winner Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot.[9][7] In total, there were nine sub-2:07 runners in the field.[10]
The wheelchair race began at 9:17 EDT (UTC-4), the women's at 9:32 EDT and the men's at 10:00 EDT.[8] In the men's and women's races, the winner received $150,000, with second and third receiving $75,000 and $40,000, respectively.[10]