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USA's Desiree Linden wins 2018 Boston Marathon's women's division

BOSTON — An American woman has won the 2018 Boston Marathon for the first time in 33 years.

Washington, Michigan's Desiree Linden, who missed out on a title by two seconds in 2011, took home the win in the women's division with a time of 2:39:54, outpacing second place finisher Sarah Sellers, also an American, by 4:11.

Linden overtook Ethiopia's Mamitu Daska, who had led the race for many miles, and Kenya's Gladys Chesir, in the "Haunted Mile" along Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton near Evergreen Cemetery near South Street. Chesir had passed Daska near mile marker 21 at the top of Heartbreak Hill near the main entrance to Boston College.

"During the National Anthem, I was replaying the whole scenario where at six miles I was thinking, ‘No way, not my day,'" Linden said. "It’s hilarious how it all works out.”

Linden's lead stretched from that point, as she distanced herself from the field along Beacon Street and  finished strong along Boylston Street through a driving wind and rain that significantly slowed the pace throughout the morning.

"When I made that turn and people were really excited, that’s when I let it click," Linden said. "I’ve been in a sprint finish on Boylston, so I didn’t let up on the gas until I got right up to the tape.”

The weather impacted all the runners during the race, and Linden said she used her previous five times running the race as an advantage against her competition.

"I felt like the conditions today took that speed away from people and I could settle in and wait to do the work until it was time to do the work," Linden said. "I found the right spot and settled in from there."

Lisa Larsen Weidenbach was the last American woman to win the Boston Marathon, winning the race in 1985.

🇺🇸 Des Linden just became the first American to win the Boston Marathon Women's Division since 1985! CONGRATS! boston25.com/2qB5PIi

Posted by Boston 25 News on Monday, April 16, 2018

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