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Two Ethiopian runners wore the golden laurels denoting winners of the Boston Marathon Monday, marking the first time in the race's 120 years that Ethiopian racers won both the men's and women's divisions.

For the men, it was newcomer Lemi Berhanu Hayle, 21; for the women, it was Atsede Baysa, 29, whose career includes wins in Paris and Chicago.


Runners from Kenya, who had for years been considered 

, were nearly shut out of the podium entirely. As 

, "Joyce Chepkirui was third in the women's race, the lone Kenyan to medal in a race that had been dominated by her countrymen for decades."


From Boston, NPR's Tovia Smith reports for our Newscast unit:

The men's wheelchair race provided the closest finish of the day, with Marcel Hug of Switzerland breaking the tape at the 1:24:06 mark – just ahead of Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa (second) and Kurt Fearnley of Australia, who were nose-and-nose in Hug's wake.

Tatyana McFadden of the U.S. won the women's wheelchair race, earning her fourth consecutive victory in Boston with a time of 1:42:16.


Like many runners in today's race, McFadden competed in honor of Martin Richard, who was eight years old when he was killed in the 2013 attacks. 

 and at the race, runners showed their support for the Martin Richard Foundation (goal: to invest in education, athletics, and community) by using the hashtag 

Sports

Runners from Kenya, who had for years been considered the best of the best in the world, were nearly shut out from the podium entirely.

Boston Marathon results: Ethiopian runners shut Kenyans out of top spots

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