Athletics-Kenyan Cheruiyot wins third Boston Marathon

BOSTON, Apr 16 (Reuters) Defending champion Robert Cheruiyot won his third Boston Marathon today and fellow Kenyans were second and third, while Russian Lidiya Grigoryeva won the women's race in stormy weather.

Cheruiyot, facing gale-force winds and sideways rain at the start of the race, pulled ahead in the latter stages, followed closely by last year's Beijing Marathon winner James Kwambai and New York Marathon runner-up Stephen Kiogora.

''The weather was not so good, so the race was tough,'' Cheruiyot told a news conference after winning the 100,000 dollar prize.

It was the 15th time in the last 17 years that a Kenyan has won the world's oldest annually contested marathon but it was also the slowest race since 1977 as runners faced cold headwinds gusting up to 50 miles per hour (80 kph).

Cheruiyot, 28, finished the 111th edition in an official time of two hours, 14 minutes and 13 seconds.

The rain tapered after about 30 minutes but a cold headwind hampered the nearly 23,870 runners.

Fans huddled under umbrellas and ponchos. Some local media called it the ''soak-athon'', but the temperature was a warmer-than-expected 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius).

Kwambai finished second in 2:14:33 and Kiogora third in 2:14:47.

Kenyan James Koskei finished in fourth place and Ethiopian Teferi Wodajo in fifth.

No American has won the race since Greg Myer in 1983.

LIKE A 'LION' Cheruiyot, winner of last year's Chicago Marathon, put distance between himself and a thinning pack of US runners after Heartbreak Hill, the steepest climb on the course, and was shoulder-to-shoulder at times with Kwambai.

''I didn't envision being a three-time champion. My mind was focusing on the course,'' said Cheruiyot.

Cheruiyot, who moved into the lead at the 25th mile, said he felt that the ''real marathon'' began with three miles left as he fellow Kenyans jostled for the lead.

''When a lion is chasing an antelope, he doesn't look back. He needs to eat,'' said Cheruiyot. ''When I am in front, I don't spare my time.'' In the women's field, Grigoryeva overtook 2006 runner-up Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia in the final 10 minutes, hoisting a Russian flag above her head after crossing the finish. Madai Perez of Mexico finished third.

''The weather conditions made a difference,'' said Grigoryeva.

''At around 35 km (21 miles) I understood I had the power to win.

The hilly course was easier than expected.'' Defending champion Rita Jeptoo of Kenya came fourth, while U.S.

Olympic bronze medallist Deena Kastor, the women's favourite, finished fifth.

''I just had a really bad day out there,'' said Kastor, who faded from the leading pack at the 14th mile when stomach problems caused her to take a bathroom break.

REUTERS PDS PM0229