Evans Chebet of Kenya repeated as the winner of the Boston Marathon and with the third-fastest finish in the 127-year history of the race, easily outpaced world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, who finished in sixth place in the men’s 26.2-mile race Monday morning.
Chebet clocked his 2 hours, 5 minutes, 54 seconds — third-fastest time in race history — to defend his Boston victory. He also won New York in November.
Kenyan Hellen Obiri, a former track star and two-time gold medalist, was first to the tape ahead of Ethiopian Amane Beriso to win the women’s marathon in 2:21:38.
The 33-year-old Obiri ran a marathon for only the second time, first competing in November at the New York City marathon and finishing sixth.
“I’m very, very happy because it’s a surprise to me,” Obiri she said after the race. “I was feeling like my body was ready and everything was ready but I was saying to myself I can’t do it in front.”
Kipchoge was at the front of the pack for the first 17 miles, but wilted on the notorious inclines known as Heartbreak Hill. The two-time Olympic gold medalist was passed by Chebet, the sixth male to win back-to-back in Boston.
–Field Level Media