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≡ BOSTON MARATHON ≡
Excellent conditions produced two compelling races at the 129th Boston Marathon, with a Kenyan sweep by John Korir, and Sharon Lokedi, with a brilliant, course-record performance.
The men’s race settled into a lead pack of 16 through the Half in 1:01:54, led by Canada’s Rory Linkletter. By 25 km, it was American Conner Mantz, the Paris Olympic eighth-placer, in the lead, with 14 others still in contact. But Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma, the defending champion, dropped off after another mile and 13 remained in contention, with Mantz and Australia’s Patrick Tiernan still in front at 30 km.
Then Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris, the two-time World 5,000 m champ in 2017 and 2019, took the lead, making his marathon debut. Kenya’s Korir, the 2024 Chicago winner, decided to open up and broke the race apart in Newton at the 20-mile mark and got away.
Only five were able to maintain any contact, with Kenyans Cybrian Kotut and Daniel Mateiko, Edris, two-time winner Evans Chebet (KEN) and Alphonce Simbu (TAN) all 20 yards back. Clayton Young of the U.S., ninth in Paris in 2024, moved up to seventh, but six seconds behind the chase pack.
By the 21-mile mark in Newton, Korir was away with an 18-second lead, ahead of Kotut, Mantz, Simbu and Edris. Korir, the younger brother of 2012 winner Wesley Korir, had 19 seconds on the pack by 35 km, on pace for the 2:04s, with the same four trailing.
Korir, 28, was running his third Boston, finishing ninth in 2023 and fourth in 2024 and broke the 2024 Chicago Marathon in the second half, winning by 1:55. He didn’t quite fracture the field as badly on Monday, but passed 24 miles in 1:53:22, 55 seconds up on Mantz, Kotut, Simbu and Edris.
Edris dropped off the back of the chase pack, so Kotut, Simbu and Mantz were battling for second. With a mile to go, Korir ‘s lead was down to 41 seconds, but he cruised home with his third career win in 11 marathons in 2:04:45.
It’s the third-fastest time in the race’s history; only the top two from the wind-assisted 2011 race was faster. Korir was embraced by Wesley at the finish line and John said afterwards that he told his brother he would win!
In the final 200 m, it turned into an all-out sprint for Simbu over Kotut – both in 2:05:04 – and Mantz fourth in 2:05:08, the second-fastest American marathon in history! Only Ryan Hall’s 2:04:58 from Boston in 2011 – also in fourth – is faster, under all conditions (Boston’s course is not eligible for record purposes). Simbu and Kotut had the no. 6 performances in race history and Mantz is no. 8.
Linkletter got sixth in 2:07:02 and then Young was seventh in 2:07:04. Ryan Ford was 10th in 2:08:00, making three U.S. finishers in the top 10. Conditions at the finish were excellent, at 54 F.
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The women’s racers started 10 minutes after the men, but it broke up early. There were 15 running together by the 10 km mark, and 14 by 15 km, but then five broke away shortly after.
The group included two-time defending champ Hellen Obiri (KEN) and countrywomen Sharon Lokedi – the 2024 Boston runner-up – and Irene Cheptai, and Ethiopians Amane Beriso, the 2023 World Champion, and 2022 London champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw.
They passed the Half in 1:08:46, with Lokedi in front and the chase pack fully 49 seconds behind and with Ethiopian Buzunesh Deba’s 2:19:59 race record from 2014 in sight. Those five continued together through 25 km, then Cheptai dropped off and four remained together, on pace to run in the 2:17s.
The four stars continued together through 21 miles and then Beriso let go and dropped back, with Lokedi, Obiri and Yehualaw continuing. Lokedi and Obiri broke away from Yehualaw after 24 miles and Lokedi was pushing, but Obiri was not giving in.
Yehualaw was 14 seconds back at 40 km and 20 with a mile to go, but now Obiri was tracking Lokedi, and waiting. But Lokedi was pushing hard, daring Obiri to hold on … and she couldn’t.
Lokedi, who won the NCAA women’s 10,000 m in 2018 for Kansas, was 25 m up with 1,000 m to go and it was over. The New York City winner in her 2022 debut, she was fourth at the Paris Games last summer and won again in her sixth career marathon, with a sizzling course record of 2:17:22, falling into the arms of her mother after crossing the line.
Obiri was second in 2:17:31, just missing a three-peat, with Yehualaw third in 2:18:06. Those are the top three performances in race history.
It was a long wait, but Cheptai finally crossed in fourth in 2:21:32, then Beriso (2:21:58). The top Americans were in 7-8 with Jess Mcclain (2:22:43) and Annie Frisbie (2:23:21).
American legend Des Linden, the iconic 2018 bad-weather marathon winner, announced this would end her pro marathoning career in Boston, finishing 17th in 2:26:19, her sixth-fastest ever and best since 2017!
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The prize money had $705,000 for both the men’s and women’s races for the top 10 placers, of $150,000-75,000-40,000-25,000-18,000-13,500-10,500-8,500-7,000-5,500. And Lokedi got a $50,000 bonus for shredding the course record.
Marathon fans don’t have long to wait for an encore; London is on Sunday the 27th!
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