BOSTON -- South African Ernst Van Dyk won his sixth
consecutive men's wheelchair race in the Boston Marathon on Monday,
finishing in 1 hour, 25 minutes, 29 seconds.
Switzerland's Edith Hunkeler won the women's race, finishing in
1:43:41.
The 33-year-old Van Dyk took the lead early in the 26.2-mile
race and never relinquished it. He is the first man to win six Boston
wheelchair races in a row, and plans to pursue a seventh.
"I think if I take care of myself and do my best, I can at
least do seven more," he said.
Van Dyk's win came after a victory in Paris last weekend. He
heads to marathons in London, then Seoul, South Korea, over the
next two weeks.
"My goal was to do four in four weeks," he said.
Van Dyk, who set a world best of 1:18:27 in 2004, finished ahead
of fellow South African Krige Schabort, who finished in 1:29:04.
Schabort, 42, has a history of runner-up finishes at Boston,
including finishing second behind Van Dyk last year. Kelly W.
Smith, 41, of Canada finished third, in 1:29:34.
Former women's wheelchair champion Jean Driscoll holds the
overall record with eight wins, seven consecutively.
The 33-year-old Hunkeler last raced in Boston in 2004, where she
achieved a personal best with her second-place finish of 1:41:13.
"I never expected to win," Hunkeler said.
Diane Roy, 35, of Canada was second and Shirley Reilly, 20, of
the United States came in third.
"It was tough climbing," Reilly said.
The first year a competitor completed the marathon in a
wheelchair was in 1970 when Eugene Roberts, a Vietnam veteran who
lost both legs in the war, finished the course. In 1975, Belmont
native Bob Hall became the first officially recognized wheelchair
participant.
This year, 27 wheelchair racers competed in the marathon.