Evans Chebet wins back-to-back Boston Marathons

When Eliud Kipchoge takes the course for any marathon, it typically turns into a race for second place.

But that trend shifted at Monday’s Boston Marathon, as Kipchoge could not keep up with the pace in the pouring rain, and Evans Chebet pulled away to win his second straight Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 54 seconds.

Chebet, a 34-year-old Kenyan, is the first man to win the Boston Marathon in back-to-back years since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot won three straight beginning in 2006. Chebet hinted at a three-peat after the win.

“I’m happy because I won last year and this year, so maybe next year I’ll come back again,” he said. Chebet said his experience running the course last year gave him an advantage during Monday’s rainy conditions. He was faster by nearly a full minute.

Chebet had been among a pack of 11 runners that Kipchoge seemed to be comfortably leading, until Gabriel Geay, who finished second, led an aggressive move at the 19-mile mark, and the pack left Kipchoge behind it.

Chebet has won his last three marathons, also winning the New York City race last year.

It was a shocking upset for Kipchoge, the greatest marathon runner of all time, who finished in sixth place. Kipchoge’s time was 2 hours, 9 minutes and 23 seconds, his slowest marathon finish ever.

Kipchoge has only lost two marathons in 15 attempts, which includes 10 world marathon major wins. It was his first time running at the Boston Marathon on a day laden with rain and a course with a hilly terrain that forces many runners to struggle. Kipchoge’s last marathon loss came at the 2020 London Marathon in similar rainy conditions.

Kipchoge, 38, has said that running all six major marathons is on his “bucket list.” He now has just the New York City Marathon to check off his list, which will happen in November.

Obiri wins in debut

By the 23-mile mark the women’s marathon was still anyone’s race, as five runners jockeyed for position down the final stretch. They were so close that Ababel Yeshaneh fell after clipping another runner’s foot.

Hellen Obiri, a 33-year-old Kenyan led that group for most of the way, often checking around to see where her competitors were. She briefly fell behind the pack, but ultimately held the group off to win the women’s race in 2 hours, 21 minutes and 38 seconds.

Obiri, who was competing in just her second marathon, showed her speed with about a half-mile left in the race, pumping her arms hard and leaving the rest of the group behind her. Obiri finished sixth in the New York City Marathon last year, her only other race of this distance. She won the New York City Half Marathon on March 19.

After that race Obiri moved to Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, Tom Nyaundi, and their 7-year-old daughter, Tania, to train. Obiri said she was anxious about racing in Boston, unsure how she would match up with the talented field.

“It’s a surprise to me,” Obiri said with a smile, her daughter standing next to her. Obiri said her daughter motivates her, and often peppers her with questions like, “You can’t be number one?”

“So I try to make them happy,” Obiri said, “because sometimes I don’t want to go, but something tells you to try to keep on fighting. So I kept on fighting.”

Amane Beriso of Ethiopia finished second, and Lonah Salpeter of Israel finished third.