Tekoa’s Susannah Scaroni claims second Boston Marathon title in three years in women’s wheelchair division
As Susannah Scaroni was making the climb up some of the Boston Marathon’s most treacherous hills, she found her mind wandering back home.
“When you grow up with all the hills in Tekoa and you learn to race up Doomsday Hill at Bloomsday, it prepares you for anything,” Scaroni said.
Those years of hard work and dedication proved to be the difference for Scaroni on Monday as the Tekoa native and six-time Paralympic medalist crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 35 minutes, 25 seconds to win the women’s wheelchair division title at the 129th Boston Marathon.
It is the second win in as many tries for Scaroni, who missed the 2024 race due to a shoulder injury after claiming her first Boston title in 2023.
“I’m still in shock if I’m being honest,” Scaroni said Monday afternoon. “This was such an awesome field and we all know each other so well, but I am just so amazed at the result.”
Scaroni crossed the finish line more than two minutes ahead of rivals and Swiss standouts Catherine Debrunner and Manuela Schar – who were second and third respectively.
Scaroni, 33, had a 30-second lead on Debrunner through the 30-kilometer mark, but used a strong push over the final eight miles to extend the lead. Debrunner topped Scaroni for gold in the women’s T54 marathon at last summer’s Paralympics in Paris and again at the Tokyo Marathon last month.
“Around mile 15 it’s a pretty steep and technical downhill with a little bit of a turn. And honestly my years of experience I think helped me have a lot of confidence to not brake on that hill,” Scaroni said. “I think that helped me against Catherine since this was her first Boston.”
With the win, Scaroni becomes just the fifth American woman to win multiple wheelchair titles, joining Tatyana McFadden, Cheri Blauwet, Jean Driscoll, and Candace Cable-Brookes.
The 2021 Paralympic gold medalist also shaved nearly six minutes off her 2023 title time of 1:45.45.
“I went into today telling myself not to be afraid,” Scaroni said. “I went to an Easter service here in Boston yesterday and that was one of the themes and it really stuck with me throughout the race.”
Scaroni, who was raised in Tekoa before moving to Illinois to attend and compete for the University of Illinois, also has victories in the Chicago and New York Marathons in her career.
She will now travel across the Atlantic as the World Marathon Majors series continues with the London Marathon on Sunday.
And although Scaroni will have to miss out on next month’s Bloomsday for the second straight year, the seven-time winner hopes to return to the streets and hills that helped raise her next year.
“I can always feel the support from home, but in these big races it just means that much more,” Scaroni said.