Lemma tops Chebet in Boston Marathon
The 128th running of the Boston Marathon kicked off Monday morning with participants making the long journey from Hopkinton, Massachusetts to the finish line on Boylston Street in Boston.
In the elite men’s group, Ethiopian Sisay Lemma denied Evans Chebet, 35, of his third straight victory. The Kenyan would have been only the fifth man in the race’s more than 125-year history to win in three straight years.
Lemma logged an unofficial time of 2:06.17 for the win. Chebet finished in third place.
The win was Lemma’s first at Boston. The 33-year-old previously notched victories at London in 2021 and Valencia in 2023.
Lemma, who finished 30th at Boston last year, was less than four minutes off the course record set by Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai (2:03:02) in 2011.
Meanwhile, Kenyan Hellen Obiri defended her title from an elite women’s field that race organizers described as “historically fast.”
● CJ Albertson, Emma Bates finish as top Americans.
CJ Albertson and Emma Bates wound up as the top American finishers for the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively, at the 2024 Boston Marathon.
Albertson finished with an unofficial time of 2:09.53, ahead of fellow American men Elkhanah Kibet and Ryan Eiler.
Bates, who actually led the women’s race early and midway through, was the top American woman with a time of 2:27.14, but Sara Hall (2:27.58) and Desiree Linden (2:28.27) weren’t far behind.
Hellen Obiri wins second consecutive Boston Marathon
Kenyan Hellen Obiri has gone backto-back.
The 34-year-old crossed the finish line first for the second consecutive year. Obiri, who finished with an unofficial time of 2:22.37, broke away from a group of almost a dozen women and showed her dominance in the final stretch through Brookline and down Kenmore Square to get the win.
Sharon Lokedi finished in second and Edna Kiplagat came home third.
● Marcel Hug defends men’s wheelchair, breaks own record.
Marcel Hug, the “Silver Bullet,” nicknamed for his trademark silver helmet, broke his own course record to defend his Boston Marathon title in the men’s wheelchair division with an unofficial time of 1:15:32. The win marks his seventh Patriots’ Day victory.
Hug broke the course record by a minute during his 2023 win and shaved off another 30 seconds Monday.
● Rainbow Cooper wins women’s wheelchair.
Rainbow Cooper, a 22-year-old from Great Britain, was the first in the women’s wheelchair division to cross the finish line with an unofficial time of 1:35:11 in just her second Boston Marathon.