Fatuma Roba did not take the usual path to becoming a living legend in the sport of marathon running. She was a pioneer, becoming Africa's first ever female to take the sport's most prestigious prize ...

ATLANTA She was a runner few had heard about, and even fewer expected would win. But there was Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia yesterday morning, her lithe legs cranking out one 51/2-minute mile after another ...

As Fatuma Roba charged up the Newton hills, through the 20th mile of the Boston Marathon, she acquired a standard- bearer. Three or four of them, actually. They were Ethiopian men, running along ...

So now comes another in the long line of luminous African distance runners. This one is a 25-year-old Ethiopian named Fatuma Roba, and on Sunday she joined that line by decimating the Olympic field in ...

ATLANTA — The tradition goes back to Rome in 1960, to the barefooted imperial bodyguard named Abebe Bikila. It was there, in the Olympics, that he started a run of three straight gold medals for ...

BOSTON — Fatuma Roba’s hair is pinched back, and small gold ovals dangle from her ear lobes, framing a regal face with eyes that seem constantly fixed on the finish line. When the Ethiopian runner ...

BOSTON -- The winner said it best. "Everybody in the world is trying to catch the Kenyans, but they can't," said Joseph Chebet, who should know. He became the ninth straight Kenyan champion at the ...

Joseph Chebet, a runner-up no more, pulled away Monday with about 4 miles left and became the ninth straight Kenyan to win the Boston Marathon. And Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia became the second woman to ...

BOSTON -- Ethiopia's Fatuma Roba ran through pain last year to win a second straight Boston Marathon. Now her leg has healed and she's thinking of a third straight victory -- and a course record. The ...

BOSTON -- The Boston Marathon could turn into a Kenyan parade, just as it did in the previous Summer Olympic year in 1996. Four years ago, when the Kenyans were fighting for berths on their Olympic ...