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Summary:
- Ethiopian Sisay Lemma won the first Boston Marathon men’s race title on Monday with a time of 2:06:17.
- Lemma is the fourth-fastest man in history after he finished the Valencia race with a time of 2:01:48..
- The women’s race was won by Hellen Obiri, who managed to keep her crown from last year. .
As the athletics season ramps up Ethiopian Sisay Lemma has scored his first-ever Boston Marathon title after finishing the men’s race in Boston on Monday with a time of 2:06:17.
The 33-year-old is the fourth-fastest man in history after he finished the Valencia race in March with a time of 2:01:48.
Kenyan Hellen Obiri managed to hold on to the title she won last year in the women’s race, with Lemma, one of the favorites to Win
Gold at the Paris Olympics
As the chasing pack was closing the gap on Lemma, the runner was determined to score his second major marathon victory after his similar 2021 London Marathon result.
He was 41 seconds quicker than fellow Ethiopian Mohamed Esa who was the runner-up.
Lemma also finished one minute and five seconds ahead of Kenyan Evans Chebet, who is the double-defending champion and who finished in the third position.
CJ Albertson, who was the top-performing men’s runner representing the US, finished with an unofficial time of 2:09:53, which brought him the seventh position.
The fresh Boston Marathon result has sent Lemma on the list of the favorites who could win the gold medal during the Paris Olympics later this year between July 26 and August 11.
Hellen Obiri and Sharon Lokedi, Neck-to-Neck Finish
The women’s race ended with a thrilling neck-to-neck finish between two Kenyans.
The 2023 champion Hellen Obiri and the former winner of the New York City Marathon, Sharon Lokedi, ran the last miles in very close proximity.
Eventually, the 34-year-old managed to sneak ahead and hold on to her last year’s title with the help of a very narrow margin of just eight seconds, with a finish time of 2:22:37.
Obiri has become the first woman to win back-to-back Boston Marathons since Catherine Ndereba’s accomplishments in 2004 and 2005.
Obiri also scooped up the New York Marathon title last November.
The top performing women’s runner from the US, Emma Bates, finished the race with an unofficial time of 2:27:14.
Earlier that day, British Eden Rainbow-Cooper won her first major marathon with a time of 1:35:11, a minute and a half ahead of Swiss Manuela Schär in the women’s wheelchair event.
In the wheelchair event for men, another Swiss was crowned the winner.
Marcel “the Silver Bullet” Hug won the race for the seventh time with a time of 1:15:33 despite a crash midway during the race.
The Boston Marathon victory helped the multiple-time Paralympic gold medalist break his course record and preserve his domination over major world marathons.
