Meb wins....in 8th place!

A tweet from Hilary Dionne:

Not my best time, but by far my most memorable finish.  Thanks @runmeb for joining me across the line, an unforgettable moment!

Forget the race!
Who's Caroline Rotich or Lelisa Desisa?
Shalane, Des, Ritz?
Who cares?

Nope, the 2015 Boston Marathon will forever be remembered by what happened as Super Hero Meb Keflizighi crossed the line....in 8th place, time of 2:12:42.
At that time, the 15th place finisher in the Women's race---and surprisingly, the 4th American!!--Ms Hilary Dionne was finishing HER race....in 2:40:42.
As they approached the line, Meb slowed a bit, took Hilary's hand, raised it in a victory pose, and they ran across the finish line---together, and smiling widely!

THAT was a defining moment not only in Boston Marathon history, but in the grand canvas of sweet and humble humanity!
(I'm sure that, even if you didn't SEE it happen when it did, you WILL see the photo--and for sure a YouTube video!----very soon!)

But let's talk about the race!

I don't know why, but Americans have a tendency to raise hopes for victories and fast times, only to see (most of) them splattered like bugs on a windshield when crunch time inevitably comes.

Shalane Flanagan and Meb were almost awarded the laurel wreaths BEFORE the race started, if you believed the almost non-stop hype.
But here's how the race unfolded.
(My version comes from a less-than-perfect webcast by the BAA (with Larry Rawson among the commentators, if that suggests anything!), so I can only tell you what I SAW!)

The Men's race started fast, with miles in the 4:40's, and with Meb and Dathan Ritzenhein among the leading crowd.
Meb tucked in behind 3 or 4 Africans, trying to avoid the 30 MPH winds.
Ritz was a step or two back.
But then, after cutting away for a couple of minutes, they returned, showing RITZ in the lead around 15K, or just past.
And it stayed that way through Sex City---I mean Wellesley!!---giving SOME hope for an American victory two years in a row!
Also, Meb kept looking strong, running at a pace that was promising a BIG PR for him and Ritz, possibly around 2:06.
But the Newton Hills, as ever, slowed the train, and uncoupled a few of the cars, including the top Americans!
While both appeared to be trying to sneak back into contention, you could see it wasn't going to happen, not when the Africans decided to surge after the hills.
So it came down to a race between Atsedu Tsegaye and Lelisa Desisa.
It was Desisa at the end, by 4 seconds, in 2:09:17.
Ritz hung on for first American in 2:11:20 in 7th place.
Then came Meb....with Hilary Dionne....in 8th!

The Women's race was just as thrilling....and enticing....for American fans.
A pack of 10 to 12 women ran in a peanut shell-shaped convoy, with the 3 top Americans---Flanagan, Linden, and Amy (Hastings) Cragg right in there.
But if you watched closely, you could see signs of early stress on Flanagan's face.
While Desiree was striding smoothly, arms hardly working, just floating along, Shalane was grimacing, and seemed to be flailing her arms, as if she were already on the Newton Hills.
Cragg was in the mix, but never a key factor.
After maybe the first 10K, the webcast showed Linden in the lead, albeit by just a foot or two, over the tight pack.
And it stayed that way for quite a long while, giving a strong dose of belief that she could WIN the race!
But after the Hills, a trio of Africans took off, running 5-oh something miles, leaving Linden suddenly 100 meters back.
Flanagan had already disappeared, and Cragg was forgotten.
(Not even sure if Cragg even finished at this point.  Will let you know in my next post!)
As with the men, it became a two woman race, between Mare Dibaba and Caroline Rotich....or between Ethiopia and Kenya!
And Kenya won!
Caroline Rotich outsprinted Ms Dibaba by the same 4 seconds as in the Men's race!
Her time was 2:24:55.
Linden held it together, running a solid 2:25:39 for 4th place.
Flanagan also made a comeback, ending in 9th place, time of 2:27:47.
Adrianna Nelson was the 3rd American, with....Hilary Dionne taking the 4th American spot!

And now she and Meb are BFF's!

Well, with the GREAT assistance of the latest issue of T&FN's eTN, and with some of my own research, I have several more marks to report that weren't known to me yesterday.
Plus, I have a few corrections to offer on stuff I posted yesterday!

First, for the corrections.

Sami Spenner scored 6019 points in the Heptathlon, as I noted, but she is NOT a Collegian anymore!
Thus she doesn't improve her Collegiate list place!

And VERY important, Vashti Cunningham's HSR in the HJ has GAINED a quarter inch!
According to Garry Hill, it was measured in English increments only, so the 1.94 metric is 6-4.50, not the 6-4.25 I reported.
So all her marks change, but her place on the A-T US list remains the same--22nd, but without any ties.
And it moves her to within just 0.50 inches of equaling the Age 17 record!

I also have some additional info on some stuff I posted yesterday.

Remember me mentioning seeing a tweet saying Erin Finn ran a 15:41 5000?
Well, she ran 15:41.80 at the Virginia Challenge meet.
But she finished 2nd to Rachele Schulist, who ran 15:36.33.
Finn ran for Michigan, which means she's NOT redshirting, so look for her at the Big 10 Conference meet!

Vernon Norwood's super impressive 44.44 in the 400 became even MORE super impressive!
Why?
Because it was practically a SOLO run, as 2nd place finished 1.90 seconds back!!

I still don't know why Shawn Barber didn't vault his usual 19-plus, but I DO know he missed his 3 tries at 18-2.50, after clearing his paltry 17-6.50.

Andre DeGrasse's windy 9.87 was accompanied by a legal wind 20.16 in the 200.
He equaled the Canada National Record!

We all know Kenya as a distance Disneyland of sorts.
Well, they now have a halfway decent sprinter!
Carvin Nkanata ran the 200 in 20.14 for the National Record of Kenya!
And....that time leads the WORLD (thus far) in 2015!!

Also at the Virginia Challenge, Leah O'Connor returned to the Steeplechase, running a Collegiate-leading time of 9:41.86.
However, it was NOT her PR.

Reese Hoffa broke his own Age 37 Shot Put record with a throw of 69-8.

Elizabeth Herrs improved her Javelin Throw PR by 1 inch, leaving her in 11th place on the A-T Collegiate list!

Bobby Colantonio upset Adam Kelly in the HT, getting a PR of 238-7.
He moves from 14th A-T HS, tied with 1 other, up to 11th.

Ariana Ince improved her JT to 196-4.
She moves from 12th A-T US up to 7th!

Tahryn Montgomery threw the Javelin 164-4, moving her up one spot on the A-T HS list, from 18th to 17th.

Quenisha Burks LJ'ed 21-9.
This misses the A-T Collegiate list by just 1.75 inches.

Finally, Tori Weeks PV'ed 13-10, ending a short streak of poor vaults.
This makes her 11th A-T HS.
(Don't know if her sister also vaulted!)

Well, folks, had enough?
Three posts in 3 or 4 days!

I'll (hopefully!) see you on Sunday, with TONS of great material from the Penn and Drake Relays!

And remember her name----Hilary Dionne!

ADDED a bit later:
There's already a video out about Ms Dionne and Meb, but it's not on YouTube!
Try Flotrack!
It's a few minutes long, and shows the two of them standing side by side indoors somewhere, Meb's arm around her shoulder, answering reporter's questions.
Turns out she's 21 years old, and is a veteran marathoner, this being her 3rd or 4th Boston race!
She's a good one, finishing 4th American today, and she's already qualified for the Olympic Trials race!!
Seek it out!
It's an interview for the ages!!

ADDED today, Tuesday:
I made a HUGE error!
Desisa didn't win by just 4 seconds.
He won by 31 seconds!
Sorry for the error!
But Rotich DID win by just 4 seconds!

ADDED today, a bit later!
Turns our Hilary Dionne is 29 years old, not 21, as I stated earlier.
Or at least that's what one article said!
She probably IS 29---given how many marathons she's run--but she LOOKS to be 21.
By the way, her Marathon PR is 2:35!!!