The Latest: Bells toll to mark 6 years since marathon attack

BOSTON — The Latest on the Boston Marathon (all times local):

2:50 p.m.

Boston Marathon organizers and city officials have held a moment of silence in tribute to those who were killed or wounded in the 2013 finish line bombings.

The bells of Old South Church were rung at 2:49 p.m. Monday — six years to the minute after the first of two bombs exploded on Boylston Street. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured in the attacks on April 15, 2013.

This is the first time since the attacks that the marathon has been run on April 15. The date since has been designated One Boston Day: a day dedicated to acts of service and kindness across the city.

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1:30 p.m.

Two-time winner Joan Benoit Samuelson finished the Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 4 minutes on the 40th anniversary of her first victory.

Samuelson wore bib No. 1979.

She is 61.

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12:50 p.m.

Double amputee Marko Cheseto finished the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 42 minutes, 24 seconds on Monday and he's already looking forward to next year.

The All-American distance runner lost both his feet after being stranded in an Alaskan blizzard. He's an early favorite for one of the new para athlete divisions that are being added in 2020.

Cheseto told WBZ-TV that he will be back.

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12:20 p.m.

Kenya's Lawrence Cherono outsprinted Ethiopa's Lelisa Desisa over the final few steps to win the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Cherono crossed the finish line in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 7 minutes, 57 seconds on Monday. That was just ahead of Desisa, the 2015 champion, who came in at 2:07:59.

Kenya's Kenneth Kipkemoi was third in 2:08:06. Kenya's Felix Kandi was fourth and 2017 champion Geoffrey Kirui was fifth.

It was the Boston debut for Cherono, a winner of six marathons, who most recently won the 2018 Amsterdam Marathon.

Cherono, Desisa and Kipkemoi broke away during Mile 24 and were shoulder-to-shoulder heading into the final mile. They stayed that way until Cherono and Desisa made it a two-man race with about 200 meters to go.

Desisa took the lead and appeared headed for victory before Cherono got on his left shoulder and outlasted him to the tape.

Early morning rain ceased by the start of the race this year, with a temperature of 59 degrees. Last year's race was contested in the rain, with temperatures dipping into the mid-30s.

American Scott Fauble led the race around Mile 18, but started to fade at Mile 21. He finished seventh, in a time of 2:09:10.

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Noon

Ethiopia's Worknesh Degefa broke away from the rest of the field early and ran alone for the last 20 miles to win the women's Boston Marathon on Monday.

Degefa crossed the finish line in Boston's Back Bay in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, 30 seconds.

She is the eighth Ethiopan woman to win the race, and the third in seven years.

It's her first major marathon victory. She won the Dubai Marathon in 2017, setting an Ethiopian national record in the process.

A half marathon specialist, Degefa opened up a 20-second advantage by Mile 7. It increased to more than three minutes by the halfway point.

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10:45 a.m.

Daniel Romanchuk has won the men's wheelchair race at the Boston Marathon with the fastest time ever by an American. Romanchuk crossed the finish line on Boylston Street on Monday in an official time of 1 hour, 21 minutes, 36 seconds.

Manuela Schar, meanwhile, is on her way to a sweep of the World Marathon Major women's wheelchair races.

Schar won Boston for the second time on Monday, finishing in 1 hour, 34 minutes, 19 seconds with no one else in sight. She is already the defending champion in Berlin, Chicago, New York and Tokyo. If she wins in London in two weeks, she will have swept the series.

Romanchuk is the youngest winner of the race at 20 years, eight months and 12 days. He is the first American winner since Jim Knaub in 1993.

Romanchuk finished three minutes ahead of Japan's Masazumi Soejima, who was second in 1:24:30. Marcel Hug was third, coming in at 1:26:42.

Romanchuk says: "I knew it was possible, it was just a matter of everything coming together."

Romanchuk's victory breaks up the recent dominance of Hug and Ernst van Dyk, who between them have 14 Boston Marathon victories. Hug had won the previous four Boston races.

Schar, a 34-year-old from Switzerland, was about six minutes slower than the record she set in her other Boston victory, two years ago.

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10:05 a.m.

The 123rd Boston Marathon has begun.

Defending champion Yuki Kawauchi of Japan was back to defend his title. Heavy winds and rain overnight had dissipated and the runners left Hopkinton under overcast skies and temperatures in the high 50s.

That's much better than last year, when an icy rain and near-gale headwinds led to the slowest winning times in four decades.

A field of 30,000 runners is following the top runners on the 26.2-mile trek to Copley Square.

American Sara Hall led the women's race through the two mile mark. It's her birthday; she turned 36 on Monday.

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9:35 a.m.

Defending champion Des Linden is back on the course at the Boston Marathon.

Linden was the first American woman to win the race since 1985 when she crossed the finish line first last year. She ran through an icy rain and near-gale headwinds to break the slump.

It's another wet day on Monday, but much better than last year. Overnight thunderstorms had stopped by the start of the women's race. It was 61 degrees, with calm wins and overcast skies.

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9:02 a.m.

The wheelchair race is off at the Boston Marathon.

First the men, then the women left Hopkinton on their way to Boston's Back Bay, 26.2 miles away. Heavy rain and thunderstorms overnight had settled down, but it was still expected to be a wet and windy day.

More than 30,000 runners were expected to make their way along the course in the 123rd edition of the race. Among them is Des Linden, who last year became the first American woman to win the race since 1985. Yuki Kawauchi is the men's defending champion.

This year's event falls on the sixth anniversary of the 2013 bombing that killed three people and maimed hundreds more. Boston officials were planning a moment of silence at 2:49 p.m., the time of the first explosion.

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7:20 a.m.

Runners are trying to stay dry as they await the start of the 2019 Boston Marathon.

The 123nd running of the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon got a wet start. But it's not as cold as expected, with temperatures in the 60s as runners arrived instead of the 30s that were initially forecast.

Monday is the sixth anniversary of the deadly Boston Marathon bombings. It's the first time the anniversary date falls on the same day as the marathon.

Runners are gathering underneath large tents set up outside of a high school in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Defending champions Des Linden and Yuki Kawauchi have said they're not bothered by the forecast for a rainy, windy day because they won last year in similar conditions. They lead a field of about 30,000 runners on the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) trek from Hopkinton to Copley Square.

The mobility impaired division is scheduled to begin at 9:02 a.m.

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