By The Huffington Post News Editors
LONDON — A defiant, festive mood prevailed Sunday at the London Marathon despite concerns raised by the bomb attacks on the Boston Marathon six days ago.
Thousands of runners offered tributes to those killed and injured in Boston on a glorious spring day in London. The race began after a moment of silence for the victims in Boston, and many here wore black armbands as a sign of solidarity.
Tsegaye Kebede claimed a second London Marathon title on Sunday, cheered through the streets by thousands of spectators reassured by enhanced security at the first major race since the twin bombings at the Boston event.
A race that started with tributes to the Boston victims with a moment of silence ended with a thrilling conclusion under clear blue skies.
With a black ribbon pinned to his chest, Kebede chased down Emmanuel Mutai in the closing stages, and overtook the tiring Kenyan to cross the line first in front of Buckingham Palace.
Kebede clocked 2 hours, 6 minutes and 15 seconds to emulate his 2010 triumph in London, while compatriot Ayele Abshero was third.
The victory in the British capital came after Kebede was denied a shot at glory here at the Olympics last year after being overlooked by Ethiopian selectors.
The women’s race saw Olympic silver medalist Priscah Jeptoo go one better in the annual London race.
The Kenyan cruised over the line in 2:20:15 seconds, the fastest time this year, ahead of compatriot Edna Kiplagat, while Yukiko Akaba of Japan was third.
It was a miserable day for Olympic champion Tiki Gelana, who finished 16th after seeing her hopes thwarted by a collision about a third of the way in.
The Ethiopian collided with Canadian wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy as she went to get a drink.
“Every year we come to overtake the women, there’s 10 chairs going at 20 mph and the poor women are scrambling to find their feet,” said Cassidy, who finished 20th. “I have a brand new $2,000 pair of wheels that are damaged, who’s going to pay for them? Things have to change.”
It was the one blot on a day marked by the defiance of athletes and spectators in the bright London sunshine in a difficult week for the athletics community.
The specter of the bombings near to the Boston Marathon finish line, which killed three people and injured more than 180, loomed in London.
And it was apt that Tatyana McFadden, who won the wheelchair race
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/mDDo_SiE3nM/
A defiant, festive mood prevailed today at the London Marathon despite concerns raised by the bomb attacks on the Boston Marathon six days ago. Thousands of runners offered tributes to those killed and injured in Boston on a glorious spring day in London. The race, the first major international marathon…
From: http://www.newser.com/story/166578/london-marathon-offers-moment-of-silence-for-boston.html
By Associated Press A defiant, festive mood prevailed Sunday as the London Marathon began on a glorious spring day despite concerns raised by the bomb attacks on the Boston Marathon six days ago.
From: http://espn.go.com/sports/endurance/story/_/id/9195888/london-marathon-heavy-boston-tributes
The London Marathon started in defiant mood on a glorious sunny morning Sunday despite concerns raised by the bomb attacks on the Boston Marathon six days ago.
Thousands of runners offered tributes to those killed and injured in Boston. The race began after a dignified moment of silence for the victims in Boston, and many wore black armbands as a sign of solidarity.
“It means that runners are stronger than bombers,” said Valerie Bloomfield, a 40-year-old accountant from France just before she started the marathon.
Most participants said they weren’t worried by the Boston bombings, and the impressive turnout of enthusiastic fans lining the routes showed the same spirit, but one runner acknowledged an undercurrent of anxiety.
“It definitely affects us,” said Chris Denton, a 44-year-old engineer who was stretching his legs by the start line. He said he’d been concerned enough to ask that his family not come out to support him because of a possible copycat attack.
“I left them at home,” he said. “If only for my peace of mind.”
His friend, 45-year-old David Wilson, said there was no question of canceling the marathon. Londoners had come back onto the streets the day after the lethal July 7, 2005, transit system bombings and weren’t easily cowed.
“You can’t not do anything, because otherwise you’d stay on the outs all the time,” he said.
Moments before the majority of runners set off on the grinding race, announcer Geoff Wightman used the loudspeakers to ask for silence. He described marathon running as a global sport that unites runners and supporters in every continent in a spirit of friendship.
“This week the world marathon family was shocked and saddened by the events at the Boston Marathon,” he said. “In a few moments a whistle will sound and we will join together in silence to remember our friends and colleagues for whom a day of joy turned into a day of sadness.”
Blackheath, where the runners were gathered, fell silent. The only noise was the buzz of helicopters and the rumble of a distant truck.
Runner Martin Connell, 42, wore a picture of 8-year-old Boston bombing victim Martin Richard on his jersey in tribute to his young namesake.
“It’s a sign of peace and goodwill,” said the runner, an IT worker from near Liverpool.
Some 36,000 runners are expected to take part in the race, which also draws tens of thousands of spectators. Police said they planned to add 40 percent more officers and extra surveillance as a precautionary measure.
Security was plentiful but not intrusive near the finish line at the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. It was mostly good-natured, as it was at the London Olympics.
Marathon staff, officials and media had their bags thoroughly checked as they entered security, which wasn’t deemed necessary at the event last year. Officials said this was in response to the Boston attack.
London‘s is the first major international marathon since the double bomb attack near the finish line in Boston, which left three people dead and more than 170 injured, including many who are still hospitalized. In
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/Ad5aMtIZxe8/
By Associated Press Tsegaye Kebede won the London Marathon for the second time on Sunday amid enhanced security in the first major race since the twin bombings in Boston.
The London Marathon is beginning, the first major international marathon since the bomb attack in Boston.
Police and organizers said Sunday that extra security measures have been put in place to assure safety at the starting and finishing points of the event.
The popular London event, taking place on a sunny day in the British capital, is expected to draw some 36,000 runners hoping to finish the course through London‘s streets.
A 30-second moment of silence is planned before the start of the event to honor those injured in the Boston Marathon.
The Monday bombing there left three people dead and more than 170 injured, including many who are still hospitalized. In addition, a policeman was killed during the search for the two suspected bombers.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/zzmB-6qAV4g/
Palestinians and their supporters are running the West Bank‘s first marathon.
Itidal Abdul-Ghani of the Palestinian Olympic Committee says some 1,000 people are participating in Sunday’s race, which includes shorter 10-kilometer and 20-kilometer options.
The marathon, taking place in cool, rainy weather, loops four times around Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
Abdul-Ghani says that because of Israel‘s separation barrier surrounding parts of the city, and its control over nearby land, there’s not enough space to do a straight 42-kilometer (26 mile) run.
Israel says the barrier is needed to keep out attackers. Palestinians say it’s a land grab.
The marathon comes six days after the Boston Marathon bombings and coincides with the London Marathon.
Some runners wore T-shirts honoring the Boston Marathon victims.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/hJkxTdpQYOI/
London‘s police force says it will have 40 percent more officers on duty at the London Marathon than last year, to reassure participants and spectators in the wake of the Boston bombings.
Chief Superintendent Julia Pendry of the Metropolitan Police says there will be several hundred more officers policing Sunday’s race, as well as more search dogs.
She said Friday that officers in London are in close contact with Boston police and the FBI, but have found “no link whatsoever” between London and the double bomb attack that killed three people and wounded more than 170 at the Boston Marathon on Monday.
Police in Massachusetts are hunting a suspect in the Boston bombings, identified as 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev. A second suspect died after clashes with police.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/tiCvRoU0nUg/
Determined to show solidarity with Boston, the London Marathon will go forward as planned Sunday with a race that will be watched by about 1 million spectators and take runners past some of the city’s most revered landmarks.
The British capital has long been a target for terrorists, and concerns have only intensified after Monday’s harrowing scenes at the Boston Marathon. Two bombs killed three people and injured more than 170.
After high-level talks with police and authorities, organizers on Tuesday confirmed that the London Marathon will proceed while acknowledging that a race of more than 26 miles that traverses a city cannot be entirely without risk.
“One of the great things about these marathons is that they are free and available to the public — that’s why we have hundreds of thousands of people come out and watch them,” Nick Bitel, chief executive of the London Marathon, told The Associated Press by phone. “I can’t see how that is going to change.
“It’s part of the whole ethos of what a mass-participation marathon is about. What one has to do is make appropriate and reasonable security measures in light of the threats and that’s what we’ll be doing on Sunday.”
Prince Harry, the patron of the London Marathon Charitable Trust, will attend the race and make the presentations to the winners from the field of 36,550 runners.
“We won’t be cowered by this sort of behavior,” said British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson, who hailed the country’s security forces as “the best anywhere in the world.”
“The best way for us to react is to push ahead with the marathon on Sunday, to get people on the streets and to celebrate it as we always do in London. These are balance of judgments but we are absolutely confident here that we can keep the event safe and secure. I think this is one of those incidents where the best way to show solidarity with Boston is to continue and send a very clear message to those responsible.”
Mo Farah, Britain’s double Olympic long-distance champion, will be running a half-marathon while the three medalists from the men’s marathon at the London Games are also among the entries.
There have been no high-profile withdrawals so far, and Bitel told the AP that the agents of the top competitors have been contacted, reassured and “kept comfortable with what is happening.”
“There’s rather intense activity going on to ensure the race is safe and is carried off with the usual aplomb,” said Ed Warner, chairman of UK Athletics. “The decision at the moment is to go ahead with the race and I’m sure it is the right decision. They will cope very well with the increased demands placed on them.”
London is one of six cities in the world marathon series along with Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
Belgrade, Serbia, is among other cities staging marathons this weekend. Organizer Dejan Nikolic is confident the race will be a “beautiful running festival.”
“We will do our best so that this year the security level is even
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/zxzoFOS2SGM/
The two explosions at Monday’s Boston Marathon will lead to drastic changes in how large-scale public gatherings, particularly sporting events, will be secured, experts told FoxNews.com.
Mike DeCapua, director of Public Safety Consultants NW, said major changes to how law enforcement officials prepare for and respond to emergencies at events with thousands of participants, supporters or bystanders will “absolutely” occur following the two bombs near the finish line of Monday’s marathon, which killed at least three people and injured at least 176 others.
“That’s what’s going to happen,” DeCapua told FoxNews.com by phone while en route to large venues in Oregon where he would conduct security assessments and emergency planning. “When an event like this happens, you’re going to see more overt police presence and a lot more behind-the-scenes tactics that will make events like this much safer. And I think the public is going to be more vigilant, as well.”
DeCapua — a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and the former homeland security manager for King County Metro, Seattle’s public transit authority — declined to discuss specific measures that would likely be deployed for security concerns. But DeCapua said the largest challenge facing race organizers prior to Monday’s race was the enormity of the 26.2 mile course.
“One of the primary concerns is the size of the venue obviously, and we’ve done a lot of work in stadiums and that’s a fixed piece of ground,” he said. “But in this case, it’s impossible for an entire venue like that to be secured due to the sheer size.”
As a former bomb-sniffing dog handler, DeCapua said those animals have a finite amount of time regarding their olfactory senses to be effective in areas of high-concentration, particularly those with “nooks and crannies” along a lengthy route — as was the case in Monday’s bombing.
Another key challenge facing law enforcement officials is the diversity of competitors and their supporters at such international events, which makes profiling a virtual “nonstarter,” DeCapua said.
“Profiling in a crowd like that is next to impossible,” he said, adding that he would instead focus upon random searches, roving teams of investigators and hardened checkpoints.
With the London Marathon just days away, increased security measures can be expected at the race that drew roughly 37,500 athletes last year, as well as next month’s Kentucky Derby and Indianapolis 500. No known specific threats against the British race had been received, however.
Nick Bitel, the London Marathon‘s chief executive, said security plans were discussed with police “as soon as we heard the news” about Boston and Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesman Doug Boles said Monday’s incident will be considered when precautions for the race are considered.
“I guess this will bring a new topic or dialogue to those discussions, to see if there’s anything more we need to do to prepare with respect to what’s happened in Boston,” Boles told The Associated Press. “And we will learn more about that over the next couple of days, as the folks in Boston do, and we will be prepared for that.”
At the
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/5cqpRzQVDhI/
LONDON, April 16 (UPI) — Prince Harry is still to hand out awards at Sunday’s London Marathon even though two explosions hurt scores of people at the Boston Marathon Monday.
From: http://pheed.upi.com/click.phdo?i=022082581d45a56c253c1c8ce29707f6
By Associated Press Determined to put on a show of “solidarity” for Boston, London Marathon organizers will stage their race on Sunday despite the threat of terrorism.
From: http://espn.go.com/sports/endurance/story/_/id/9177180/london-marathon-proceed-sunday-cowered
British police are reviewing security plans for Sunday’s London Marathon, the next major international marathon, because of the deadly bombs that hit the race in Boston.
The London Marathon is a hugely popular race. Last year, some 37,500 athletes competed, with many more watching the springtime event.
London has long been considered a top target for international terrorists. In 2005, a series of suicide attacks on the public transport system in the British capital killed 52 people. London and mainland Britain also face a moderate threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism, according to the government.
Two bombs exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing two people, and injuring 22 others, race organizers and police said.
A London Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed Monday that police here are working with marathon officials to review security plans for Sunday’s race, with an eye toward establishing a larger security presence. The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to go on the record.
The London race’s chief executive, Nick Bitel, expressed shock and sadness about the situation in Boston, saying “it is a very sad day for athletics and for our friends in marathon running.”
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/rHr4xOhhjN0/
British police say they are reviewing security plans for Sunday’s London Marathon, the next major international marathon, because of the explosions that hit the race in Boston.
Thousands of people compete in the London Marathon every year, thronging the city’s streets. London is also considered a top target for international terrorists.
It was not yet immediately clear what caused the blasts in Boston.
A London Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed Monday that police are working with marathon officials to review security plans for Sunday’s event.
The London race’s chief executive, Nick Bitel, expressed shock and sadness about the situation in Boston, saying “it is a very sad day for athletics and for our friends in marathon running.”
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/XQ7wABNmx1E/