BOSTON - Trailing the leaders by 200 yards when the Boston Marathon slogged through Heartbreak Hill, Wesley Korir passed them one by one until he took the lead on his way out of Kenmore Square.
That's when leg cramps forced him to slow down and relinquish the lead.
"It's hot out there, in case you didn't know," he told reporters after enduring temperatures in the mid-80s to win the 116th Boston Marathon on Monday. "I knew it was going to be hot, and one important thing that I had to take care of today ... was really hydrate as much as possible. I guess my biology degree kicked in a little bit."
Singing religious songs as he trudged along the scorching pavement, the native Kenyan - a permanent resident of the United States - retook the lead from Levy Matebo in the final mile to cross the finish line in 84.8-degree temperatures with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, 40 seconds.
It was almost 10 minutes behind the world best established here a year ago by Geoffrey Mutai and the second-slowest Boston victory since 1985.
"To me, I think running the Boston Marathon is an Olympic event," Korir said. "I don't care what comes up after this, but I'm really, really happy to win Boston."
Sharon Cherop won the women's race to complete the Kenyan sweep, outkicking Jemima Jelagat Sumgong to win by 2 seconds in 2:31:50. The women's winner was decided by a sprint down Boylston Street for the fifth consecutive race - all of them decided by 3 seconds or less.
Cherop was third at the world championships and third in Boston last year.
Matebo finished 26 seconds behind Korir, and Bernard Kipyego was third as Kenyans swept the podium in both genders. Jason Hartmann, of Boulder, Colo., was in fourth place and the top American.
Korir, a two-time winner of the Los Angeles Marathon, was the 19th Kenyan man to win Boston in the last 22 years.
But he is hardly typical of the African runners who have come to dominate the event since Greg Meyer became the last American winner in 1983.
The winners will receive $150,000 apiece.
Temperatures keep 4,300 from running
Nearly 22,500 participants braved unseasonably balmy conditions at the 116th running of the storied 26.2 mile race. Organizers stocked extra water and pleaded with runners to slow their pace to avoid heat stroke. Some 4,300 participants registered to run opted to sit out.
Organizers said that as of the late afternoon, more than 800 runners had received some level of medical attention, and 50 were taken to hospitals in ambulances.
Men's wheelchair world record falls
Joshua Cassidy of Canada won the men's wheelchair race, comfortably beating the field in world-record time.
Cassidy, 27, of Toronto, finished Monday in 1 hour, 18 minutes and 25 seconds, which beats the world record by two seconds.
He led from the third mile and finished well ahead of last year's runner-up, Kurt Fearnley of Australia.
Bruschis finish
Former Arizona Wildcats and New England Patriots great Tedy Bruschi and his wife, Heidi, were among Monday's finishers. They finished nearly side-by-side, with Heidi clocked in in 5:26:01 and Tedy in 5:26:02.
