South Korea’s Lee Ends Kenya’s Streak

Lee Bong-ju of South Korea won the 105th Boston Marathon on Monday, ending a 10-year victory streak for Kenya.

Catherine Ndereba made sure the Kenyans weren’t shut out, however, winning the women’s race for the second consecutive year.

Lee raised his fist to salute the crowd as he came down Boylston Street to finish in 2 hours 9 minutes 43 seconds. Silvio Guerra of Ecuador was second, 24 seconds behind, and Kenya’s Joshua Chelang’a came in third, 46 seconds behind.

Rod DeHaven, of Madison, Wis., was sixth in 2:12:41--the first top-10 finish for an American since 1994. The United States, which hasn’t had a Boston winner since Greg Meyer in 1983, placed two runners in the top 15 and nine among the top 31.

“I’ll be back,” said Josh Cox, of El Cajon, who led for a while before finishing 14th. “And I think the Americans will too.”

Italy’s Gelindo Bordin, in 1990, was the last non-Kenyan to win the men’s race. The last Korean to win was Kee Yong-ham in 1950.

“I knew I was running alone against many Kenyans, but the marathon is competing by yourself,” Lee said. “I focused on competing by myself and not paying attention to the others.”

Lee stayed with the pack the entire race as it dwindled from 24 at the halfway point to four by the time the runners came out of Heartbreak Hill. It quickly became three: Lee, Chelang’a and Guerra.

Chelang’a dropped off the pace in the 25th mile, just before Lee made his move on Guerra.

Ndereba finished in 2:23:53, almost three minutes ahead of Poland’s Malgorzata Sobanska. Lyubov Morgunova of Russia was another 36 seconds back in third.