Boston Marathon held the day before sentencing phase begins for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Ethiopian man who won the Marathon two years ago won again

The spontaneous kiss happened during the Boston Marathon (AP Images)

Lelisa Desisa has won his second Boston Marathon, finishing the famous race in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 17 seconds, but this victory probably will be much sweeter than the first time he won.

That was back in 2013 and Desisa’s victory was nearly forgotten just hours after he finished when two bombs exploded at the finish line, killing three people and injuring another 260. Desisa returned to Boston after his 2013 victory to give his winner's medal to the city.

Fitting he should repeat as winner two years after the bombing – and his first Marathon victory – and one day before the sentencing phase will begin for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man responsible for the 2013 Boston bombing.

(Getty Images)

Tsarnaev was convicted earlier this month on 30 counts related to the bombing, including 17 that carry the possibility of the death penalty. The sentencing phase of his trial will begin on Tuesday and he faces either life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

The families of victims of the bombing have called for the jury – which is the same one from the guilt phase of the trial – to eschew the death penalty in favour of life in prison.

“We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives,” Bill and Denise Richard, parents of an 8-year-old boy killed in the blast, said in a statement.

Follow @PaytonGuion on Twitter.