Boston Marathon ends in dual Ethiopian victories, memories of 2013

On a day dominanted by memories of three years ago and characterized by a lack of major names in the field, the 2016 Boston Marathon became the province of Ethiopia's finest runners.

The men's race featured a long duel between defending champion Lelisa Desisa and Lemi Berhanu Hayle, both of Ethiopia. The duo ran together for many miles until Hayle put on a late charge to absolutely dust Desisa. Hayle finished in a time of 2:12:44, a minute ahead of Desisa.

On the women's side, Atsede Baysa used some canny strategy, laying off the early pace and then employing a late burst of speed, to eliminate every other competitor en route to a victory time of 2:29:18. Bayse was 37 seconds off the lead at mile 22 when she began her kick. Her last competitor, vanquished several miles before, was her countrywoman, Tirfi Tsegaye, who finished in a time of 2:30:02.

This marked the first Boston Marathon for both Hayle and Baysa. The women's defending champion, Caroline Rotich, dropped out of the race at the five-mile mark. No reason was initially given for her withdrawal. Kelly Spence Neely was the first American woman to cross the finish line at a time of 2:34:59.

[Slideshow: Memorable images from the 2016 Boston Marathon]

The wheelchair division featured two repeat winners. On the women's side, Tatyana McFadden won her fourth straight wheelchair Boston in a time of 1:42:16, outdistancing her competition enough that she was able to wave to fans on Boylston Street as she finished. On the men's side, Marcel Hug used a last-second burst to outwheel Kurt Fearnley and Ernst Van Dyk to a finishing time of 1:24:02.

Several external storylines shaped this year's marathon. First, the looming Olympic marathon at Rio in August, meaning most top Americans opted to skip this year's run. America's Olympic competitors raced at the Olympic trials in Los Angeles in February.

No Boston Marathon will ever run again without memories of 2013, when bombs placed at the finish line killed and maimed runners and spectators. Several competitors this year suffered grievous injury at that year's race, and the One Fund community, made up of survivors of the attacks and their families, had 31 runners entered in the field.

Fans lined the entire 26-mile race, observant and mindful of the attacks but also celebrating as part of Boston's largest party:

Other notable moments at the marathon included a celebration of 50 years of women in the race as official participants; three-time winner Bobbi Gibb served as race grand marshal. Mark Wahlberg, a Boston native, was on-site filming scenes for his upcoming movie "Patriots Day," a dramatization of the events of the 2013 marathon.

____
Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.