A record-tying three consecutive victories at the Boston Marathon isn't enough for Cosmas Ndeti. The 25-year-old Kenyan wants more, a lot more.
"I'm going to come back next year and I'm going to win again," Ndeti said Monday after romping to a one-minute victory at 2 hours, 9 minutes, 22 seconds. "I want to see how many times I can win."Uta Pippig of Germany has her own streak going. She won the women's division for the second straight year, marking the first time the male and female champion won in consecutive years.
Pippig and Ndeti both set course records last year. This time, they were not so fast.
Pippig's time of 2:25:11 was decidedly slower than her mark of 2:21:45. But she still enjoyed a comfortable margin over Elana Meyer of South Africa, the runner-up at 2:26:51. Madina Biktagirova of Belarus was a distant third at 2:29:00.
Six of the top nine men to finish were Kenyans, and the top American finisher was Michael Whittlesey of Willimantic, Conn., who was 29th, less than three minutes faster than Pippig. The top American woman, Linda Somers of Oakland, Calif., was 11th.
Another victory would tie Ndeti with Bill Rodgers as the second-biggest winner in Boston Marathon history, behind Clarence DeMar, who won seven times between 1911-1930. Rodgers (1978-80) and DeMar (1922-24) are the only others besides Ndeti to win three times in a row.