Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia almost did the unthinkable at the Boston Marathon on Monday morning, while American Emma Bates sure tried to.
The 33-year-old Sisay not only ran away from a very strong field to win, but he briefly teased spectators and fans with an unfathomably fast pace. Lemma, who entered the race as the fourth-fastest marathoner in history (2:01:48), came through the halfway point in 1:00:19, which meant he was on sub-2:01 pace and ahead of world-record pace. Although he slowed considerably over the second half of the race, Lemma held on to win in 2:06:17, the 10th fastest time in Boston Marathon history.
Bates, the top U.S. runner in the very deep women’s field who had been fifth in the race a year ago, surged numerous times throughout the race and was still in the lead near mile 20. But Bates and several other runners in the women’s lead pack fell off the pace when the race turned into an exceptionally fast three-way tussle between Kenyans Sharon Lokedi, Hellen Obiri, and Edna Kiplagat.
After Obiri, the race’s defending champion, and Lokedi, the 2022 New York City champion, were able to shake…
