Battling rain, wind and cold, two-time Olympian Desiree Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985.
Linden, who goes by “Desi,” crossed the finish line at the 2018 Boston Marathon Monday with a time of 2:39:54, despite the unseasonably harsh weather.
An American, Sarah Sellers, came in second, and U.S. women came in fourth through sixth, nabbing five out of the top six finishes. The big finishes for American athletes come five years after the Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people and left hundreds injured including runners and spectators of the race.
Last year, Linden came in fourth at the Boston Marathon, and in 2011, she came in second, nearly missing a first-place finish.
During this year’s Boston Marathon — even before her win — Linden made headlines for stalling to wait for fellow American Shalane Flanagan, who had to stop and duck into a port-a-potty towards the beginning of the race. Flanagan, who won the New York Marathon in 2017, placed sixth in Monday’s Boston Marathon.
In 1985, Lisa Larsen Weidenbach won the Boston Marathon. That 1985 race was one year before prize money started being awarded to winners, according to NBC Sports, an incentive for more runners around the world to take part in the marathon.
