BOSTON (AP) — Ethiopia’s Deriba Merga overcame the disappointment of his Olympic fade to win the Boston Marathon on Monday, and Kenya’s Salina Kosgei won the closest women’s race in the history of the event. Americans took third in both races for the best U.S. finish since 1985.

Merga, who was passed in the last quarter-mile and finished fourth in Beijing, pulled away before Heartbreak Hill and won in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 42 seconds — almost a full minute ahead of Kenya’s Daniel Rono and American Ryan Hall.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” said Hall, who took the early lead and was shoulder-to-shoulder with the leaders until they passed from Wellesley into Newton, with about 10 miles to go. “And I’ve been in the Rose Parade, so that’s a pretty big deal.”

Kosgei won a sprint with defending champion Dire Tune, trading the lead several times in the final blocks of Boylston Street before hitting the tape less than a stride ahead of the Ethiopian in 2:32:16. American Kara Goucher led the three as they crossed the MassPike into Kenmore Square with one mile to go, but she was outkicked down the stretch and finished 9 seconds back.

“I just wanted it for everybody that wanted it for me,” said Goucher, whose voice cracked repeatedly in the postrace news conference. “I’m proud of how I did. I just wanted to be the one that won — for everybody.”

The winners will take home $150,000, but Merga had to wait for his traditional laurel wreath: The women’s pace was so slow and the men finished so fast that he crossed the finish line before Kosgei had a chance to climb the champion’s podium.

Kosgei said the weather conditions made for a difficult finish.

“The wind was a bit stronger. … So, it was very hard,” Kosgei said. “I decided I must try. So, I tried.”

No American has won in Boston since Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985, when the U.S. women swept the top three and the men came in second and third.

“People were so proud to see an American up front, and there was a lot of ‘U.S.A.!’ cheering,” Goucher said. “Two Americans in the top three is fantastic. I think once things settle in a bit, it’ll be a really great day, we’ll be really proud of this.”

The women’s race was the slowest since ’85, a pace that had the men’s leaders passing the female stragglers and approaching the final mile as the women were hitting the tape.

Goucher burst into tears and was consoled by her husband, and Tune fell to the pavement for several minutes after the final sprint. Race spokesman Jack Fleming said Tune would not be available because she was receiving medical attention; he did not elaborate.

One year after Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova to win by 2 seconds in what was then the closest women’s finish ever, the Ethiopian traded places with Kosgei several times on the last long stretch to the tape. The only closer finish in the 113-year history of the event was in 2000, when Elijah Lagat beat Gezahegne Abera with an identical time of 2:09:47.

Defending champion Robert Cheruiyot, who was going for an unprecedented fourth straight title and fifth overall, dropped out of the race between the 35K and 40K markers.

South African Ernst Van Dyk breezed to his eighth win in the men’s wheelchair race, matching the all-categories Boston Marathon record set by Jean Driscoll, who won eight women’s wheelchair races. Japan’s Wakako Tsuchida won her third straight women’s wheelchair race.