Cheruiyot wins again at Boston Marathon

BOSTON —  Overcoming gale-force winds and rains at the start, defending champion Robert Cheruiyot won his third Boston Marathon on Monday as he and his fellow Kenyans swept the top four spots in the men’s race and Russia’s Lidiya Grigoryeva won the women’s competition.

Cheruiyot pulled ahead in the latter stages by out-kicking James Kwambai to win in 2 hours 14 minutes 13 seconds -- slower than the course record of 2:07:14 he set last year but enough to win by 20 seconds.

“The weather was not so good, so the race was tough,” Cheruiyot said.

It was the 15th time in 17 years that a Kenyan has won the world’s oldest annually contested marathon.

The top American man was Peter Gilmore, a former Palisades High star, who finished eighth with a time of 2:16:41 amid the field of 23,870.

Grigoryeva took the women’s crown in 2:29:18, winning by 40 seconds and sending Latvia’s Jelena Prokopcuka to her second consecutive second-place finish. Grigoryeva veered to the stands to grab a Russian flag before the finish line.

Top American hope Deena Kastor, a former Agoura High star, faded from the leading pack at the 14th mile when stomach problems caused her to take a bathroom break. Kastor, defending London marathon champion, U.S. record-holder and 2004 Olympic marathon bronze medalist, finished fifth with a time of 2:35:09.

“It’s hard to deal with a disappointing performance when you’ve prepared for so much better,” Kastor said.

Many leading runners ditched their long sleeves and gloves by 10 miles in, but the wind was back in the runners’ faces for the last, long stretch.

“My legs were just in such pain and just would not function,” said Gilmore, who was the only American on the men’s leaderboard. “My brain would tell them what to do, and they just wouldn’t respond -- especially from Heartbreak Hill on.”

For Gilmore, it was his third strong race in Boston after finishing 10th in 2005 and seventh last year. Gilmore, 29, won L.A. City titles in the 1,600 meters, 3,200 and cross-country while in high school. His primary goal is to qualify for the 2008 Olympic marathon; the U.S. men’s trials are in November.