Lokedi denies Obiri a “three-peat,” while Korir triumphs in Boston from an early setback

John Korir of Kenya won the Boston Marathon on Monday after tripping close to the starting line and finished in two hours, four minutes, and forty-five seconds. Meanwhile, Sharon Lokedi, a fellow Kenyan, prevented Hellen Obiri from winning the race for the third time in a row by setting a course record.

With two miles remaining, Korir, the 2024 Chicago winner, gained a minute on the field before jogging through the finish line after recovering swiftly from the fall and pulling away at the 20-mile mark.

In the last straight, Tanzanian Alphonce Simbu battled Kenyan Cybrian Kotut to secure second place in 2:05:04.

Korir, who seemed to lose his bib in his early fall, broke the tape in the second-fastest time in Boston, holding the paper in his hands and spreading his arms wide.

He became the only two siblings to win the oldest annual marathon with the triumph, together with his older brother, Wesley Korir, the 2012 winner, who was present to give John a hug at the finish line.

On the women’s side, it was an unforgettable day as Kenyan Obiri pursued a rare Boston “three-peat” while Lokedi, the runner-up from the previous year, was out for vengeance.

Lokedi, the 2022 New York winner, and Obiri had separated from the rest of the pack and were engaged in a fierce struggle with less than two miles remaining before Obiri, the bronze medallist in Paris, started to feel exhausted.

With a strong finish in the last 1,000 meters, Lokedi beat the race record set by Buzunesh Deba in 2014 by two minutes and 37 seconds, finishing in 2:17:22.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia finished third with a time of 2:18.06, 19 seconds behind Obiri.

Lokedi claimed she had more than enough energy left for the last few miles despite her fears that she had gone out too quickly as she got closer to Boston’s renownedly difficult hills.

“Feel so great, I can’t believe it,” she told him. “I just wanted to do my best and just fight to the end.”

At the 129th Boston Marathon, Bob Hall, the first wheelchair champion at the major, crossed the finish line in 2:58:00, commemorating the event’s 50th anniversary.

In 1:21:34, Swiss competitor Marcel Hug won his ninth Boston title and paid homage to Hall at the finish.

“He is a real pioneer for our sport – he opened the door for us,” commented Hug. “We are so grateful, thankful, that he had the courage to come here and do the Boston Marathon 50 years ago.”

One year after she had to miss the competition because of an injury, American Susannah Scaroni won the women’s race in 1:35:20.