BOSTON – While it would take most runners all day to complete the race 2024 Boston Marathon, the race winners have already crossed the finish line on Boylston Street. Monday saw a few repeat winners, along with a few newcomers who broke the tape before anyone else.
Helen O'Berry wins the women's Boston Marathon
Charles Krupa/AP
Helen Obiri of Kenya broke away late to win the women's Boston Marathon for the second time in a row, breaking the tape with a time of 2:22:37. She is the first back-to-back winner since Catherine Nderiba of Kenya who won two consecutive women's races in 2004 and 2005.
What had been a group of 20 people was down to just two in the final miles on Monday, with Obiri and Sharon Lokedi running side by side as the crowd cheered them on. But Oubiri kicked things into high gear in the final stretch, and now has another Boston win to her name. Obiri also won the 2023 New York City Marathon.
Lokedi finished second with a time of 2:22:45 while Edna Kiplagat finished third with a time of 2:23:21 to give Kenya the top three places in the women's race. Buze Diriba and Senbere Teferi (both from Ethiopia) finished in a time of 2:24:04 to round out the top five in the women's race.
Minnesota's Emma Bates became the first American woman to cross the finish line on Monday, finishing with a time of 2:27:14. Sarah Hall was next in 2:27:48 (two minutes behind her finish in Boston last year), while 2018 champion Des Linden finished in 2:28:27.
Sisay Lima wins the men's Boston Marathon
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Ethiopia's Cesay Lemma didn't last run Boston in 2022. On Monday, there was little doubt he would be the first man to the finish line.
The 33-year-old went from wire to wire and broke the tape with a time of 2:06:17 – the 10th fastest time in Boston history. Lemma measured his lead within minutes for much of the race, although his advantage was reduced to one minute in the final miles. But no one has been able to catch Lemma, whose previous best performance in Boston was 30th in 2019.
Mohamed Issa (also Ethiopian) was second at the finish line in 2:06:58, while defending champion Evans Chebet was not far behind in 2:07:22. Kenyans John Korir (2:07:40) and Albert Korir (2:07:47) rounded out the top five.
CJ Albertson was the top American at 2:09:53, finishing seventh overall for his best finish in Boston. He finished 10th in 2021, 13th in 2022, and 12th in last year's race.
Eden Rainbow-Cooper wins the Boston Marathon for women in wheelchairs
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A newcomer has taken the women's wheelchair crown, with Eden Rainbow-Cooper becoming the first woman from Great Britain to win the wheelchair division of the Boston Marathon. The 22-year-old finished Monday with a time of 1:35:11 for the first major world marathon win of her career.
Four-time champion Manuela Schar made a push and cut Rainbow-Cooper's lead to 30 seconds at one point, but the Portsmouth, England, native pulled away late. There was no one in her rearview mirror when she turned left onto Boylston.
Rainbow-Cooper also won the Boston 5K on Saturday. He did not have a sponsor for Monday's race, but that will likely change after her win.
Schar was second on Monday with a time of 1:36:41, followed by Madison De Rosario (1:39:20), Patricia Echos (1:40:22) and Aline dos Santos Rocha (1:41:47). .
Michelle Wheeler was the first American winner in the women's wheelchair race with a time of 1:45:59.
Marcel Haug wins the men's Boston Wheelchair Marathon and sets another record
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Another year, another men's wheelchair crown for Swiss Marcel Haug. The 'Silver Bullet' claimed his seventh win in Boston on Monday, once again breaking his own record.
In fact, he not only broke the record, he smashed it with a time of 1:15:33. He broke his own record last year as well with a time of 1:17:06.
He repeated himself as a record-breaking champion despite hitting a wall when he turned onto Comm Ave in Newton. But even that crash couldn't slow Hug down on Monday, and for the second year in a row he finished at the top of the competition. Maryland's Daniel Romanchuk finished second in 1:20:37, followed by David Weir (1:22:12), Shaw Wantanabe (1:26:10), and Joshua Cassidy (1:26:15).
Romanchuk was the top American finisher, followed by Aaron Pike (1:28:35) and Evan Cornell (1:30:31).
Who won the Boston Marathon in 2023?
The 127th Boston Marathon saw another sweep of Kenya, with Evans Chebet and Helen Obiri winning the men's and women's races respectively.
Shebet won his second consecutive Boston Marathon with a time of 2:05:54 – the third-fastest winning time in the history of the race. He was also almost a minute faster than his win in 2022. Shebet was the Boston Marathon winner to repeat since Robert Cheruiyot won three in a row from 2006-08.
O'Berry was actually a late entrant into the 2023 Boston Marathon, having only run a marathon before taking on the Boston: New York City Marathon a few months ago. She won in a time of 2:21:38, which is the fourth-fastest winning time in the history of the race.
In men's wheelchair racing, well, we've told you all about Hug. But he won his sixth Boston Marathon last year when he beat American Daniel Romanchuk by more than 10 minutes.
Susanna Scaroni won the women's race in a time of 1:41:45 despite having to deal with a loose wheel near the 15k mark. It was her first win in Boston and her third fastest time on the track in her nine races.
Who is the fastest person to ever run the Boston Marathon?
Geoffrey Mutai holds the record for the best time in the Boston Marathon, finishing the 2011 men's race in just 2:03:02.
Ethiopian runner Bozunesh Deba holds the record in the women's race, having completed the 2014 Boston Marathon in 2:19:59. The record previously belonged to Rita Jeptoo of Kenya, who finished in 2:18:57 in 2014, but Deepa was declared the winner in 2016 when Jeptoo was stripped of her title due to doping.
In wheelchair racing, I just read about Hug and his record performance on Monday. Manuela Schar holds the record in the women's race with a time of 1:28:17 (2017).
Do Boston Marathon winners get a prize for winning?
The winners get a chunk of change, with the winners of the men's and women's races receiving $150,000 each. The second place winners will receive $75,000, while the third place winners will receive $40,000.
In the wheelchair section, the first winners will receive $40,000, while second and third places will receive $25,000 and $12,000, respectively.
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