5 Top American Women To Watch: Boston Marathon 2018

BOSTON, MA — It's been decades since an American woman has won Boston. And there have been some phenomenal leaders in the international field. But each year folks wonder could this be the year? There's plenty of eyes right now on some top women; a hometown girl, a London record holder and a couple of spring chickens.

Here are five US women to watch and pundits are saying with the weather we're seeing right now, it just could happen:

• Shalane Flanagan came in 7th in 2014 then 9th in 2015, she has a silver Olympic medal in the 10,000 m, and we thought she might retire, but she is now coming off a win at the NYC Marathon.
• Jordan Hasay came in third in 2017 (the fastest American woman) with a time of 2:23 in Boston last year she also placed third in Chicago. (NOTE: Hasay withdrew Sunday, on the eve of the Marathon reportedly because of an injury.)
• Molly Huddle (she's the one who broke Deena Kastor’s 67:34 American record in the half marathon)
• Deena Kastor still holds the American record for the marathon in 2:19:36, which she set at the 2006 London Marathon. She also won Chicago. and earned a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics. Kastor is 45 and this will be the first time she runs Boston in a little more than a decade.
• Desiree Linden came in fourth last year just two minutes after Hasay at 2:25 in Boston and has finished in the top five in seven Abbott World Marathon Majors and missed winning Boston by just two seconds in 2011.

Kastor, Hasay, Flanagan and Linden are considered four of the five fastest US marathon women of all time.

Then there is Molly Huddle who joined the US elite team this year. She has more than 20 national titles and the American record in the 5,000m, 10,000m and the 5K; Serena Burla,who finished 10th and 11th at the 2015 and 2017 IAAF World Championships Marathon, respectively; Sara Hall, the 2017 U.S. National Marathon Champion; and Kellyn Taylor, who won a 2015 Pan American bronze medal in the 5,000m.

The competition

But it's not like it's going to be easy - as if running 26.2 miles in Boston, in the rain, in the cold and under a 2:30 time was ever easy. There are 20 women in the elite running, 10 of whom have personal best times under 2:23:00. Here's what the BAA says about those ladies:

Leading the way on Marathon Monday for the women is two-time World Championships Marathon gold medalist Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, who returns to defend her 2017 Boston Marathon title.

Challenging Kiplagat is Bahrain’s Eunice Kirwa, the 2016 Olympic Marathon silver medalist, and Ethiopia’s Aselefech Mergia, a London champion and three-time winner of Dubai.

Also in the top of the pack? 2014 Boston Marathon champion and course record holder Buzunesh Deba, of Ethiopia, and countrywoman Mamitu Daska, a two-time winner of Frankfurt who has also claimed victories in Dubai and Houston.

Caroline Rotich, who won the 2015 Boston Marathon and is a champion of Prague and Las Vegas Marathons, returns and is joined by countrywoman Gladys Chesir who makes her Boston debut after finishing runner-up in Amsterdam last year.

National marathon record holders Kellys Arias of Colombia and Madai Perez of Mexico will be in the mix, as will Krista Duchene, the second fastest Canadian marathoner in history. Jessica Augusto of Portugal and Jessica Draskau Petersson of Denmark – both Olympians – will make their Boston Marathon debuts, according to the BAA.

Last year's top 15 Boston Marathon finishers:

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch