(Getty)
Rita Jeptoo of Kenya is the Boston Marathon winner for the third time.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. She Set a Course Record
Rita Jeptoo won her 2nd straight #BostonMarathon and breaks a course record. More #photos: http://t.co/6C87D635t6 | pic.twitter.com/SMqcRorZoY
— USATODAYSportsImages (@USATsportsImage) April 21, 2014
Jeptoo set a course record in 2:18:57, beating second-place finisher Buzenesh Deba by about a minute and beating the 12-year-old course record set by Margaret Okayo of Kenya by almost two minutes.
2. She Won the Marathon in 2006
Jeptoo after winning the marathon in 2006. (Getty)
Jeptoo’s first Boston Marathon title came in 2006, when she won it in 2:23:38. The win was her third in a marathon. The first two — in Stockholm and Milan — having come in 2004.
3. She Took More Than 2 Years Off After Having a Child
Rita Jeptoo with 2013 men’s winner Lelisa Desisa Benti. (Getty)
Jeptoo gave birth to her first child in 2008 and took more than two years off from running afterward, not returning to running until 2011. She went without a marathon win in 2011 and 2012 after returning from maternity leave.
4. She Also Won Last Year
Rita Jeptoo with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick after winning the Boston Marathon in 2013. (Getty)
Jeptoo won the Boston Marathon last year, crossing the finish line more than two hours before the bombs went off near the finish line. It was her first marathon victory since winning Boston in 2006, and her first major race title since winning the Lisbon Half Marathon in 2007.
This year, she was able to enjoy her victory a whole lot more.
5. She Came From Behind
Rita Jeptoo crosses the finish line. (Getty)
Jeptoo trailed American Shalane Flanagan for more than half the race and was competing against a pack of other challengers until the race’s 23rd mile.
