Boilermaker Champ Takes Boston Marathon Wheelchair Race, Utica Native Finishes 8th

A four-time Utica Boilermaker champion in the wheelchair division claimed another victory on Monday, taking first place at the 126th Boston Marathon.

Daniel Romanchuk completed the 26.2 mile course in 1:26:58, nearly a full six minutes ahead of second place finisher Aaron Pike, another American wheelchair athlete.

Utica native Hermin Garic finished eighth, completing the course in 1:35:38, 8-minutes and 40-seconds off the pace set by Romanchuk. Garic has developed into a top level wheelchair athlete and was competing in the Boston Marathon for the first time as an elite athlete, having earned that honor after his win at the 2021 Utica Boilermaker last fall.

Jason Robinson, a fellow Central New Yorker from Westmoreland, participated in his first Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing in 15th place (1:44:03).

Manuela Schar of Switzerland (pictured above with Romanchuk) won the women's wheelchair division with a time of 1:41:08.

Kenyan Evans Chebet was the first runner to cross the finish line, completing the course in 2:06:51. Fellow Kenyans Lawrence Cherono and Benson Kipruto finished second and third, respectively.

Peres Jepchirchir, also from Kenya, was the first women's runner to cross the line with a time of 2:21:01. Jepchirchir, 28, won gold in the 2021 Olympics, with a marathon time of 2:27:20.

This year's Boston Marathon returned to it's normally scheduled Patriot's Day date after being postponed for each of the last two-years due to COVID-19.

The Utica Boilermaker is also returning to it's 'normal' date this year, the second Sunday in July, following a pandemic-delayed race in 2021. America's Greatest 15k Road Race will be held on Sunday, July 10, 2022.