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Marcel Hug overcomes crash to win 7th Boston Marathon wheelchair title

BOSTON -- Marcel Hug of Switzerland overcame a crash and won his seventh men's wheelchair Boston Marathon title, setting a course record Monday of 1 hour, 15 minutes, 33 seconds.

It bests his previous course mark of 1:17:06 set last year and was just seven seconds from setting a world record. It continues his streak of 11 consecutive major marathon titles.

American Daniel Romanchuk was second in 1:20:37, followed by Britain's David Weir in 1:22:12. Hug, 38, took advantage of temperatures in the mid-50s at the start of the race and was more than 30 seconds ahead of his fellow competitors by the halfway mark.

In the women's race, Britain's Eden Rainbow-Cooper won her first Boston crown, crossing in 1:35:11. She was followed by Switzerland's Manuela Schar in 1:36.41 and Australia's Madison de Rozario 1:39.20.

It was Rainbow-Cooper's first major win. The 22-year-old was seventh in Boston a year ago. Her previous top finishes in a major were second in Tokyo this year and second in Berlin in 2023.

Hug was cruising until he crashed while making the turn at the start of the Newton Hills section of the course, skidding and hitting a barrier at about the 18-mile mark. But he quickly recovered and maintained a nearly 4-minute lead over the field.

Hug and Rainbow-Cooper received $40,000 for the win and a bonus of $50,000 for setting the record.

The Paris Paralympic marathon favorite, Hug will represent Switzerland in France this summer.