Hellen Obiri emerged victorious at the Boston Marathon on Monday, successfully defending her title in a time of 2:22:37. This win secures her place in history as the first woman to win consecutive Boston Marathons since Catherine Ndereba in 2005.
Obiri’s fellow Kenyans, Sharon Lokedi and veteran Edna Kiplagat, completed a podium sweep, finishing second and third respectively.
The race remained close until the final miles, where Obiri and Lokedi separated themselves from the pack. In a thrilling final stretch, Obiri pulled away to claim victory, using the race as a warm-up for her Olympic debut in Paris.
In the men’s race, Ethiopian runner Sisay Lemma dominated, breaking the curse of his previous Boston attempts (two DNFs and a 30th place finish).
Lemma seized control early, building a significant lead that held strong throughout the race. Despite aiming to break the course record, the challenging Boston hills ultimately slowed him down.
However, Lemma held off a late surge from countryman Mohamed Esa and Kenyan Evans Chebet to secure his first Boston Marathon title and his fastest time since 2021.
Lemma sees this victory as the perfect preparation for the Paris Olympics, where he anticipates similar hilly terrain. “The reason I came to run in Boston was because Boston Marathon is similar to the Paris Marathon,” he stated. “It will help me there.”
