Staff Reporter.
Kenyans Peres Jepchirchir and Evans Chebet won the Boston Marathon women’s and men’s titles as the world’s oldest annual marathon returned to Patriots’ Day for the first time since 2019.
Jepchirchir consolidated her status as the world’s top female marathoner after winning the Olympics and New York City last year.
She prevailed in Boston in 2 hours, 21 minutes, 2 seconds, outdueling Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh over the final miles. Yeshaneh, who exchanged the lead with Jepchirchir multiple times in the last mile, crossed four seconds back.
Kenyan Mary Ngugi was third. The top American was Nell Rojas in 10th.
Chebet clocked 2:06:51 for his first major marathon victory, leading the first Kenyan men’s podium sweep since 2012. The 2019 Boston winner Lawrence Cherono was second, 30 seconds behind, followed by Benson Kipruto, who won Boston last year when it was held in October.
Chebet had the second-fastest personal best of the deep field, a 2:03:00 from winning the 2020 Valencia Marathon.
Scott Fauble was the top U.S. man in seventh in a personal-best 2:08:52, the second-fastest marathon for an American since the start of 2020.
Boston, the world’s oldest annual marathon, was held on its traditional Patriots’ Day date for the first time since 2019. The race was held virtually in 2020 and moved to October in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
American Daniel Romanchuk won the men’s wheelchair race in 1:26:58 after defending champion Marcel Hug of Switzerland withdrew before the morning start.
Swiss Manuela Schär earned her fourth women’s wheelchair titles in the last five Boston Marathons, clocking
The next major marathon is at the world track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July. The U.S. qualifiers include two-time Olympic medalist Galen Rupp, Seidel, Emma Bates and Sara Hall.