As Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya was climbing Heartbreak Hill inyesterday's 96th Boston Marathon, he looked back and gestured tocountryman Boniface Merende to rejoin him in the lead. By the timeHussein crested the hill, he could have looked back and wavedgood-bye to Merende and the rest of this starry field.
Running uncontested through the huge crowds that lined the coursefrom the turn onto Beacon Street to the finish line by the BostonPublic Library, Hussein raced to victory with the widest margin (2minutes 25 seconds) since Rob de Castella beat Art Boileau by 3:21 ina course-record 2:07:51 the first year (1986) the world's oldestcontinuing marathon became a prize-money race.
Hussein's victory, in warm and humid conditions, was a gem thatmoved up one more level since he beat Tanzania's Juma Ikangaa by onesecond in 1988 to become the first African runner to triumph inBoston. He won his second Boston race a year ago and yesterdaybecame one of the few to win three. Clarence DeMar has won seven.Bill Rodgers and Gerard Cote won four. Hussein joins Rhode Island'sLeslie Pawson (1933, 1938, 1941) and Finland's Eino Oksanen (1959,1961, 1962) as a three-time winner.
Hussein, who has trained in Flagstaff, Ariz., for the past fourmonths pointing to this race, covered the 26 miles and 385 yards fromHopkinton to Boston's Back Bay in the race's second-fastest time of2:08:14 to beat Portugal's Joaquim Pinheiro (2:10:39) and Mexico'sAndreas Espinosa (2:10:44). They weren't factors in this Africanshow until the race had broken open and they began picking offrunners over the grueling second half of the course.
The pace had been brutal. Kenya's Simon Karori took it throughthe first mile in 4:36 and kept it on hold, as the slowest milethrough the first nine was a 4:47 eighth.
New York City Marathon director Fred Lebow put it this wayregarding Hussein's blistering win: 'He ran a fantastic race in thelight of the fast start. He knows the course. He knows whathappens. He was ready to sprint to the finish if he had to. If so,he could have broken 2:08. He had a lot left.'
The international flavor in this Olympic year spilled over to thewomen's race, as Olga Markova of Russia turned in a jewel of her own.She ran past favored Wanda Panfil of Poland to become the first fromher homeland to win either division in the second-fastest Bostonwomen's time of 2:23:43. She was a runaway 2:43 in front of Japan'sYoshiko Yamamota, as Panfil wound up sixth in 2:29:29. Markovaturned in history's seventh-fastest time, and only three women haverun faster.
When Hussein crossed the finish line in a time that bettered hispersonal mark by 29 seconds and was the sport's 17th-fastest, hebroke into tears of joy for the first time in his career.
'I think this is a very special win for me,' said Hussein. 'Itwas a very emotional win. I've never cried at the finish line, but Icried today. I came in 1990 thinking I was going to win and I messedup my Achilles' and nobody came to me and asked what happened.'
So Hussein returned in 1991, outlasted Ethiopia's Abebe Mekonnen(eighth yesterday, 2:13:09) and yesterday made it a back-to-back showfor the first time since Geoff Smith repeated in 1985 and for justthe fifth time since the end of World War II.
'I've trained in Flagstaff and it's almost the same terrain asBoston,' said Hussein. 'You run up and down. I've been down therefor the last four months, and training down there helps on a courselike Boston. People don't recognize me as a marathon runner. Bywinning for the third time, I think they will now believe it.'
Will they ever, because this was a calculated and sensibleperformance on a sneaky hot and humid afternoon. Karori, who isbetter known in steeplechase, track and cross-country, ran by himselfdown the yellow line through Ashland and into south Framingham,opening an 18-second gap by the time he ran through 7 miles.Mekonnen, who won in 1989, had been there for 5 miles, but thewilting pace did him in. He later admitted it 'was too hot.' Forthis reason, Hussein said, it was OK Karori was in front but he laterurged him to drink more water.
They caught up to Karori by Wellesley Town Hall and went throughthe half-marathon in 1:02:41. The pack included five Kenyans andIkangaa. Merende (sixth, 2:12:23), Sammy Nyangicha (30th, 2:21:06)and Simon Robert Naali (50th, 2:24:53) were there. Naali and Karoriparted company over the next 2 miles, and Nyangicha dropped off bythe Woodland Golf Club around 16 miles as they approached the rightturn by the fire station and prepared to head into the three hills ofNewton.
Ikangaa, who has been runner-up three times in Boston, was thenext to leave, and he would finish fourth in 2:11:44.
'I was having problems at the bottom of my left leg,' saidIkangaa, 'and it was feeling numb.'
As everybody up front faltered, Pinheiro and Espinosa were movingup undetected by television cameras or viewers in the press van thatleft Hussein shortly after he headed inbound on Beacon Street.
Espinosa, whose time wasn't sufficient to earn him a berth on theMexican Olympic team, was 10th at 15 miles, and Pinheiro, who didearn a spot on the Portuguese team for Barcelona, wasn't in the top15. Espinosa was fourth at 20 miles, Pinheiro was fifth. Theyjockeyed for position, and Pinheiro, who was fifth in London in 1991,went past Espinosa and Boniface in the final miles. They registeredthe best Boston finishes for their countries.
'The pace and the course are supposed to take care of the peoplewho are not strong,' said Hussein, who was named to the KenyanOlympic team with Merende and 1987 world champion Douglas Wakiihuri.'I have trained well, and I knew I would be there at the end andwhoever has the best strength will win. I won it last year, and Icame here expecting to win.
'This is an Olympic year. My goal was to run under 2:10. I didit, and I beat the best guys.'
