Kenyan John Korir overcame a tumble near the starting line to win the Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing in two hours four minutes and 45 seconds, while his compatriot Sharon Lokedi denied Hellen Obiri a third straight title.
The 2024 Chicago winner Korir recovered quickly from the fall and pulled away at the 20-mile mark, building a minute cushion between himself and the rest of the field with two miles to go, before jogging through the finish.
Tanzanian Alphonce Simbu eked out a second-place finish in 2:05:04, battling Kenyan Cybrian Kotut down the final straight.
With the win, Korir builds on his family’s legacy after his older brother, Wesley, won in 2012. They are the only two siblings to have won the Boston Marathon.
The 2022 New York winner Lokedi and Kenyan Obiri were locked in a tense battle with less than two miles to go before Obiri, who won bronze in Paris, began to lose energy.
Lokedi surged through the final 1,000 metres, crossing the line in 2:17:22 with Obiri 19 seconds slower and Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw (2:18:06) in third.
Obiri was 19 seconds slower and Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw (2:18:06) finished third.
Lokedi said she had feared she went out too fast as she approached Boston’s famously demanding hills but had more than enough left in the tank for the final stretch.
“Feel so great, I can’t believe it,” she said. “I just wanted to do my best and just fight to the end.”
The 129th running of the Boston Marathon also marked the 50th anniversary of the first wheelchair winner at the major, when Bob Hall crossed the line in 2:58:00.
Swiss Marcel Hug collected his eighth Boston title in 1:21:34 and offered a tribute to Hall at the finish line.
“He is a real pioneer for our sport – he opened the door for us,” said Hug. “We are so grateful, thankful, that he had the courage to come here and do the Boston Marathon 50 years ago.”
American Susannah Scaroni won the women’s race in 1:35:20, a year after she was forced to miss the event due to injury.
Reuters
