1st Olympian Wins in Boston : Marathon: Rosa Mota of Portugal becomes first woman to win three times.

BOSTON —  Gelindo Bordin today became the first Olympic men’s champion to win the Boston Marathon, as Juma Ikangaa was runner-up for the third straight year.

Rosa Mota of Portugal easily won the women’s race for the third time in four years. Mota, the first woman to win the Boston Marathon three times, finished in 2:25:24, far ahead of runner-up Uta Pippig of West Germany.

Mota won here in 1987 and 1988 and captured the Olympic marathon in 1988.

Bordin of Italy overtook Ikangaa of Tanzania with about six miles left and won comfortably in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 19 seconds. He passed Ikangaa on Heartbreak Hill, one of the most grueling sections of the course.

Ikangaa was second in 2:09:52, and Rolando Vera of Ecuador, making his marathon debut, was third in 2:10:46.

The world marathon best of 2:06:50 is held by Belayneh Densimo of Ethiopia. The course record of 2:07:51 was set by Rob de Castella of Australia in 1986.

The 26.2-mile race from Hopkinton, west of Boston, into the city was run under cloudless sky with temperatures in the high 50s to low 60s, a bit warm for a record run.

Ikangaa led the men’s race at 10 miles, 15 miles and 20 miles. At about 17 miles, he broke away from 1988 champion Ibrahim Hussein and Kipkemboi Kimeli, both of Kenya, and opened up a large lead.

At 20 miles, Ikangaa’s time of 1:36:53 left him about 100 yards ahead of Bordin. But soon after, Bordin overtook Ikangaa, the world’s top-ranked marathoner last year when he won the New York Marathon.

Bordin took the lead 1:41:19 into the race and stretched it out into a sizable advantage. He was unchallenged the rest of the way and raised his arms in triumph as he hit the finish-line tape.

In 1988, Hussein overtook Ikangaa in the stretch for a one-second victory, the closest in the race’s history. Abebe Mekonnen of Ethiopia beat Ikangaa by 1:03 last year.

After 15 miles, Ikangaa had a slim lead over Hussein and Kimeli in a time of 1:11:15. When de Castella set the course record in 1986, he ran the first 15 miles in 1:12:43.

Mustapha Badid of France won the wheelchair competition in a record time of 1:29:53. The old mark was 1:36:04, set by Philippe Couprie of France last year. Couprie was third today in 1:32:15, and Franz Nietlispach of Switzerland was second in 1:31:31.

A record official field of 9,362 left the starting line at noon.

Any world best wouldn’t have been considered an official marathoning record by the governing body of the sport in the United States. The Athletics Congress has passed legislation that eliminates races on point-to-point courses for record consideration.

The Boston course doesn’t meet two TAC criteria for records on point-to-point layouts: Its start and finish lines are farther apart than 30% of the race distance and the course drops in altitude more than the maximum 42 meters.

The Boston Athletic Assn. has asked for the rule to be repealed. The controversy didn’t keep the world’s top marathoners away.