IRELAND’S FIONNUALA MCCORMACK clocked a PB in her first marathon since the Rio 2016 Olympics, while falling one place shy of Tokyo 2020 qualification at the Boston Marathon today.
McCormack finished 11th recording a lifetime best time of 2:30.38. The top 10 qualified for the upcoming Games in Japan.
Six months after giving birth to her daughter, Isla, the 34-year-old produced a stunning performance Stateside, her halfway-mark time 1:14.02.
Just an idea of how significant her run was today: in Rio McCormack clocked a previous PB of 2:31.22, finishing 20th.
The Wicklow native made her initial return to the international stage at the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, two weeks ago.
McCormack impressed as she finished 18th in the women’s 10.2km race — just four places down from her best showing at the event as she was the second non-African across the finish line.
11th place for Fionnuala McCormack in Boston in a PB of 2:30:38, her first marathon since the 2016 Olympics. One place shy of an Olympic qualifier, but she's almost certain to be ranked high enough come the cutoff.
— Cathal Dennehy (@Cathal_Dennehy) April 15, 2019
Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s Worknesh Degefa powered to victory today in the women’s elite race, leading almost from start to finish in Boston to clinch the biggest win of her career.
Degefa hit the front in the early stages before pulling away to finish in just over 2:23.30. The 28-year-old had forged into a two-minute lead by the 12-mile mark and pulled away to lead by four minutes through 20 miles.
Degefa’s pace slowed dramatically over the closing stages, as Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat, the 2017 Boston champion, kicked hard in pursuit.
Although Kiplagat steadily chipped away at Degefa’s lead, narrowing the gap to around one minute with a couple of miles to go, Degefa never looked in danger of being overhauled.
Kiplagat crossed in second while Jordan Hasay of the United States finished third.
- With additional reporting from AFP.
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