Hopkinton to Boston, MA, April 19, 1928
Paris bronze medalist Clarence DeMar, 39, won the Boston Marathon for the sixth time, which also served as the U.S. National Championship and one of the three qualifying races to select the six-man Stars and Stripes team for the Amsterdam Olympic marathon. Following DeMar, the next places were taken by Ville Ritola's tough competitors James Henigan and Joie Ray.
DeMar started to pull away after just five miles. In the final miles, Ray might have been able to ctch up him, if his feet hadn't blistered.
"They say I'm too old to run a marathon," DeMar chatted after the race, "but I've never felt as good as I did today crossing the finish line."
In addition to the top three from Boston, the Olympic team also included the top three finishers from the Baltimore Marathon, run in early June: future three-time 15-mile U.S. champion William Agee, New Yorker Harvey Frick, and plumber Albert Michelsen.
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