It was Japan's day in the wheelchair divisions at the 2011 Boston Marathon, with Masazumi Soejima winning the men's race while Wakako Tsuchida took home the women's side.
Soejima out-sprinted Kurt Fearnley and Ernst Van Dyk in a wild finish, breaking the tape in 1:18:50 -- just one second ahead his competitors -- for his second win at the Boston Marathon (2007). It's the first time ever that South Africa's Van Dyk has lost in Boston. He won every year from 2001-06, and against from 2008-10 -- he did not compete in 2007, the year Soejima claimed victory.
Tsuchida's win, her fifth consecutive title at the Boston Marathon, was the fastest time ever for the women's wheelchair division -- she crossed the finish line in 1:34:06, which was 16 seconds faster then the record originally set by Jean Driscoll in 1994.