- became the youngest man ever to win the men’s wheelchair race at the, Daniel Romanchuk became the youngest man ever to win the men’s wheelchair race at the Boston Marathon.
- Romanchuk is the first American to win the division in Boston since 1993. His performance follows up on a breakthrough 2018, where he won both the New York and Chicago Marathons.
- Manuela Schär of Switzerland won Boston for the second time with a time of 1:34:19.
For the first time since 1993, an American man clinched victory in the men’s wheelchair division at Boston: Daniel Romanchuk won the race in 1:21:36, finishing nearly three minutes ahead of Masazumi Soejima from Japan.
“At the start of the race I wasn’t sure what to expect going in,” he said after the race. “On the bus [I was] seeing lots of rain and lightning, but by the time the race rolled around, it calmed down.”
Since he “doesn’t go down hills well,” Romanchuk started the race far down in the pack.
“I just knew that I needed to calm down, not to lose too much ground, that Newton is coming,” he said. “Around the sprint points, I decided to throw in a surge and broke up the pack.”
He ended up dominating the race, finishing nearly three minutes in front of Soejima—who won two Bostons in the past—and over five minutes before third-place winner Marcel Hug of Switzerland.
At just 20 years old, Romanchuk already has a seriously impressive resume. Back in November, he became the Boston Marathon Qualifying Standards Get Tougher at the Published: Apr 15, 2019 11:28 AM EDT. Just one month before that, he also finished first in Chicago, edging out Paralympic gold medalist Marcel Hug both times in sprint finishes.
Earlier in 2018, he placed third in Boston and London. He also set records on the track last summer, in the 800 meters and 5,000 meters.
Even with wet conditions at the start, Romanchuk finished within three minutes of the course record. He will earn $25,000 for his victory.
In the women’s race, Manuela Schär of Switzerland won Boston for the second time with a time of 1:34:19. She broke the tape in 2017, setting the current world best time and course record of 1:28:17.
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