Lemi Berhanu Hayle was the first man to finish the 2016 Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing the city's 26-mile course in a crisp two hours, 12 minutes and 44 seconds. He beat out defending champion and fellow Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa to claim this year's crown in an impressive test of endurance, separating himself as the final marathon miles wore on.
It was quite a run for the Hayle, who finished first out of 16,629 announced male entrants. (It's unclear as of yet exactly how many actually ran in the competition.) There were also 14,112 female entrants in this year's race. It was a diverse group, with every U.S. state represented and citizens of 99 world countries running the race.
Ultimately, America again failed to place first overall in open competition. The United States has just one Boston Marathon win since 1983, coming in 2014 when Meb Keflezighi earned the top slot among men. No American woman has won since Lisa Larsen Weidenbach in 1985, a streak that continued on Monday when Ethiopia's Atsede Baysa won. It was an Ethiopian sweep on Monday.
Hayle is just 21 years old. He'll be someone to watch for years to come.
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