Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
Eden Rainbow-Cooper wins 2024 Boston Marathon women’s wheelchair race
Rainbow-Cooper becomes the first woman from Great Britain to win the wheelchair division with a time of 1:35:11.
More Boston Marathon
Eden Rainbow-Cooper won the women’s wheelchair division of the 2024 Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing with a personal best time of 1:35:11.
The 22-year-old from Portsmouth, England is the first woman from Great Britain to win the division. Rainbow-Cooper took the lead early on and maintained her dominant position for the entire race, leading by over a minute at the half-way mark.
“I just wanted to come here and finish the race and just have fun, so first place – I can’t believe it,” she told Hannah Storm after crossing the finish.
Rainbow-Cooper was born with sacral agenesis, a rare birth defect that causes abnormal development of the lower spine near the tailbone. After being introduced to wheelchair racing in high school, she began training under six-time Paralympic champion David Weir at The Weir Archer Academy — a sports academy dedicated to developing elite wheelchair athletes.
Advertisement:
The win was somewhat unexpected when Rainbow-Cooper entered with the 10th-fastest personal best. After finishing fourth in the New York Marathon (1:49:34), seventh in the London Marathon (1:47:43), and seventh in the 2023 Boston Marathon (2:06:45), Monday’s race marked the first major marathon win of her career.
“It really took everything, it was such a mentally tough challenge,” Rainbow-Cooper said, per the Boston Globe. “… I only started two years ago and it took absolutely everything and I can’t believe it.”
Rainbow-Cooper says she hopes her historic wins paves the way for more opportunities for wheelchair athletes from her country.
Advertisement:
“It means everything to me to be able to do my country proud and to be the first. Hopefully make way for some more British racers to come through in the future,” she said.
Rainbow-Cooper, who raced without any sponsors, said her friends and family helped get her to Boston through a fundraiser she did over a year ago. Now, she gets to take home $40,000 in prize money.
The women’s wheelchair division was open for the taking after Susannah Scaroni, the 2023 defending wheelchair champion who famously stopped mid-race to tighten her axel, withdrew from the race last week following a shoulder injury.
Despite being the 2024 favorite, Switzerland’s Manuela Schar trailed in second, finishing with a time of 1:36:41. The veteran racer set the course record with 1:28:17 in 2017, going on to win the women’s wheelchair division in 2019, 2021, and 2022 respectably.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com