Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa wins second Boston Marathon

Boston Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia claimed his second Boston Marathon title on Monday and Kenya's Caroline Rotitch won the women's crown.

Desisa previously won in Boston two years ago, hitting the tape first just hours before two bombs went off at the finish line. He returned his winning medal to the city of Boston.

This time, he'll likely keep the medal.

Desisa returned last year, but was unable to finish the race because of injury. He created some distance in the last two miles on Monday and finished in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 17 seconds.

He's the fourth man to win the Boston Marathon twice.

Rotitch claimed the women's title in a time of 2:24:55, pulling away from Ethiopia's Mare Dibaba in the final 500 meters.

Meanwhile, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's chief of staff, Dan Koh, used the marathon as an opportunity to make a grand romantic gesture. After the race, he asked his girlfriend, a fellow runner, Amy Sennett, to marry him on the finish line.

Judging from the photo Walsh posted to Twitter, she said yes.

A total of about 30,000 runners competed in the Boston Marathon, the world's oldest annual marathon.

The top-finishing American racer was Desiree Linden, who came in fourth with a time of 2:25:39. The Californian came in second place last year, the closest an American woman has come to winning the Boston Marathon in 30 years.

The top-finishing male American runner was Dathan Ritzenhein, who came in seventh with a time of 2:11:20.

Last year's male winner, Meb Keflezighi, finished in eighth place this year. He crossed the finish line this year holding hands with a fellow runner, Hilary Dionne.

Marcel Hug of Switzerland came in first in the men's wheelchair division and Tatyana McFadden won the women's division for the third-straight year.

This year's race takes place one day before the sentencing phase of the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man found guilty of setting off bombs at the finish line and a subsequent manhunt that killed three people and injured 170. He is eligible for the death penalty.

[SportsNetwork.com]