Sisay Lemma ran a stunning race to win his first Boston Marathon (2:06:17), while Hellen Obiri triumphed to win her second straight title in the women’s race (2:22:37).
The Ethiopian runner had an impressive lead throughout most of the race when he took over the lead pack and hit the 5K marker at 14:21. Lemma kept up a blistering pace and was projected to finish at 2:00:06 after the 10K mark — a pace that would have broken the course record.
Although Lemma did not break the course record, he recorded the 10th-fastest time in race history and was proud of his win after not finishing the marathon in 2022. Lemma, 33, did not finish in two of his three prior Boston appearances and finished 30th in 2019.
“My plan was to break the course record, but it’s so hilly up and down and that made me tired a little bit,” Lemma said through an interpreter.
Lemma finished 41 seconds ahead of Mohamed Esa, who moved up from fourth over the final mile to finish second in 2:06:58. Evans Chebet, last year’s winner, finished third in 2:07:22.
Shortly after that, Obiri crossed the finish line to win the women’s race with a similar time as her debut mark of 2:21:38.
The women’s competition featured a unique situation of a lead pack of 20 runners, including Obiri, through the first 13.1…
