Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma won his first Boston Marathon title on Monday, finishing with a time of 2:06:17 in the men’s race (the 10th fastest in Boston Marathon history) and denying Evans Chebet of a men’s three-peat. The 33-year-old Lemma — the fourth-fastest man in history after his 2:01:48 finish in the Valencia Marathon last month (per CNN) — secured his second major marathon victory after winning the 2021 London Marathon. Fellow Ethiopian Mohamed Esa (2:06:58) came in second, while Chebet finished third with a time of 2:07:22.

Lemma said after the race: “Until halfway through I was running very hard and very good. But after that it was getting harder and harder. Several times I’ve dropped out of the race before. But today I won, so I’ve redeemed myself.”

For the women, Hellen Obiri of Kenya retained her 2023 title, and became the first woman to repeat as champion at the Boston Marathon in nearly two decades. Obiri’s time of 2:22:37 was about a minute slower than her 2:21:38 from last year, but enough to edge fellow Kenyans Sharon Lokedi (2:22:45) and Edna Kiplagat (2:23:21), who placed second and third, respectively. The two-time Olympic silver medalist held a per-mile pace of 5:26 over the 26.2-mile course. Obiri, 34, previously won the 2023 New York City Marathon with a time of 2:27:23,

Obiri told ESPN: “Defending the title was not easy. Since Boston started, it’s only six women. So I said, ‘Can I be one of them? If you want to be one of them, you have to work extra hard,’ and I’m so happy because I’m now one of them. I’m now in the history books in Boston.” Obiri added of her fellow-Kenyan, second place winner Sharon Lokedi: “Sharon is a strong lady, so I tried to push. I tried my best. … I think Sharon gave me a tough competition.”

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