Crowning Champions

uphills to her usual advantage.

Schär would go on to win in 1:35:21, almost 15 minutes ahead of McFadden. "I was pretty much racing against the clock," Schär said. "It's too bad we didn't have a tailwind this year, because I was ready to go for that course record [1:28:17, also a world best]." Hug also had a course record and

Hug also had a course record and world best (1:18:04) on his mind, even after coming of a close runner-up effort the day before in Chicago to rival Daniel Romanchuk. Late in the race, and with a 7:24 lead over defending champion Romanchuk at 40K, Hug realized that it was in his grasp.

And then it wasn't: At the turn onto Hereford Street, the veteran Hug

inexplicably went straight as he followed a lead vehicle. Although he quickly regrouped, he estimated that he lost about 20 seconds. His winning time was 1:18:11, just seven ticks shy of the course record mark.

"In the last two to three kilometers I realized I was very close to the record, so I just went as fast as possible, head down, and put everything into it that I had left,"

he said. "Yeah, it was my fault. … I should have known from past experience."

Still, it was far better than not being able to race at all during the height of the pandemic.

"It's fantastic to be back here in Boston," he declared.

Barbara Huebner, a former reporter for the Boston Globe, has been writing about the Boston Marathon for almost 30 years.

Manuela Schär Receives Course Record Medal

As part of the pre-race press conference, Switzerland's Manuela Schär was presented her 2017 course record medal, which features a diamond-studded unicorn and is inscribed with her world-best finish time of 1:28:17 from four years ago. "This medal holds a special place in my heart," Schär said.

Wheelchair Double Takes Center Stage

	NAME	COUNTRY	CHICAGO PLACE	CHICAGO TIME	BOSTON PLACE	BOSTON TIME	CUMULATIVE TIME
MEN	MARCEL HUG	SWITZERLAND	2ND	1:29:08	1ST	1:18:11	2:47:19
	DANIEL ROMANCHUK	USA	1ST	1:29:07	2ND	1:25:46	2:54:53
	AARON PIKE	USA	3RD	1:29:28	4TH	1:28:55	2:58:23
	JOHNBOY SMITH	GREAT BRITAIN	4TH	1:29:37	6TH	1:31:43	3:01:20
	SHO WATANABE	JAPAN	8TH	1:38:29	9TH	1:35:06	3:13:35
WOMEN	TATYANA MCFADDEN	USA	1ST	1:48:57	2ND	1:50:20	3:39:17
	YEN HOANG	USA	2ND	1:50:14	3RD	1:51:24	3:41:38
	JENNA FESEMYER	USA	3RD	1:50:23	6TH	1:59:51	3:50:14
	VANESSA DE SOUZA	BRAZIL	4TH	1:58:09	4TH	1:53:23	3:51:32
	MICHELLE WHEELER	USA	6TH	2:08:59	8TH	2:07:10	4:16:09