Soejima, Tsuchida win Boston wheelchair titles

BOSTON - Masazumi Soejima amd Wakako Tsuchida gave Japan a sweep of the Boston Marathon men’s and women’s wheelchair divisions, boosting a nation recovering from a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Soejima won Boston for the second time in 1 hour, 18 minutes, 50 seconds, while Tsuchida won easily for the fifth consecutive year with a course record and world best of 1:34.06, breaking the previous mark of 1:34.22 set by Jean Driscoll in 1994.

Soejima, who also won in 2007, was in third place in the final stretch but made a final frantic push to pass Australian Kurt Fearnley and nine-time champion Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa, who both finished in 1:18.51.

Americans Shirley Reilly and Christina Ripp finished second and third.

Photo by Christopher Evans

Masazumi Soejima of Japan crosses the finish line in front of Kurt H. Fearnley of Australia, and American Joseph K. Chirlee to win the men’s wheelchair division of the 2011 Boston Marathon.

Source :http://www.bostonherald.com

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