The London Marathon 2013 winners have safely crossed the finish line. Before the race began on Sunday morning, thousands of runners bowed their head in a 30-second silent tribute to the dead and injured victims of last week’s bombing attack on the Boston Marathon .
Many of the thousands of runners wore black ribbons to acknowledge the tragedy, which resulted in a Boston-area manhunt that left one bomber the dead and the other held captive in a hospital awaiting prosecution on federal terrorism charges.
In the aftermath of the bombing, Britain’s Scotland Yard police force added several hundred more officers to increase security. They also took other special precautions like installing bomb-proof trash bins along the route.
In the beautiful spring weather, about 35,000 London marathon runners were cheered on by over 650,000 people along the way.
The organizers are donating £2 per runner to the One Fund Boston which will assist victims impacted by the tragedy. The donation should come to about $100,000 total.
2010 men’s winner Tsegaye Kebede has claimed the title again. The Ethiopian passed up Kenyan rival Emmanuel Mutai near the end of the race to take the prize. He ran the 26.2 mile race in two hours, six minutes, and 15 seconds.
Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo is the women’s winner of the 2013 London Marathon, crossing the line in two hours, 20 minutes, 15 seconds. Second place was also taken by a Kenya, Edna Kiplagat.
Kenyans and Ethiopians are often involved in a tight rivalry for the top spot in the sport of marathon running. Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa Benti won the men’s 2013 Boston Marathon, while Kenyan Rita Jeptoo won the women’s crown. But their victories were sadly overshadowed by the terrorist bombing that took place after the fastest runners had completed the race.
Tatyana McFadden, who won the wheelchair race in Boston last week, has also done it again, again coming in first in the London marathon 2013 wheelchair race.
[photo of Tsegaye Kebede running 2012 London Marathon by Pawel Kowalczyk / Shutterstock.com ]