History was made at the 45th annual New Balance Falmouth Road Race.
Kenyan Stephen Sambu, 29, became the first man to win the event four times and Sambu did it by capturing his fourth consecutive race, hitting the tape just a stride ahead of Kenyan-American Leonard Korir.
The race was so close that both men were given the same time of 32:14.
Also defending her title was Kenya’s Caroline Chepkoech in a race that was not as dramatic as Sambu’s. She hit the tape in 35:53, a full minute ahead of runner-up Kenya’s Mary Wacera – the largest winning margin on the women’s side since 1982.
Sambu and Chepkoech each get $10,000 for their wins and Chepkoech will realize an additional $5,000 for winning “The Countdown”, a time determined by the average margin of difference between the men’s winner and the women’s winner over a specified number of years.
History was also made in the men’s wheelchair race as Daniel Romanchuk, 19, hit the tape in 23:16, breaking the course record of 23:32 set in 2014. Romanchuk was three seconds ahead of 2nd place finisher Krige Schabort.
The women’s wheelchair division was won by 17-time Paralympic medalist, Tatyana McFadden, who won her third Falmouth in a time of 27:36. Nigeria’s Hannah Babalola was second (29:12) and Massachusetts native Katrina Gerhard finished third (29:32).