In her major marathon debut, Kenya’s Diana Kipyogei is this year's Boston Marathon champ!
Kipyogei won in the women’s elite division with an unofficial time of 2:24:50. This is the first Boston Marathon win for the 27-year-old, who also won the marathon in Istanbul in 2020. The all-time record of 2:19:59 was set by Ethiopian Buzunesh Deba in 2014. Kipyogei took charge 18 miles into the race, but was caught by Ethiopia's Netsanet Gudeta. Kipyogei then seized control around 24 miles. 2017 Boston winner Edna Kiplagat, finished second at 2:25:09. Mary Ngugi (2:25:20) and Monicah Ngige (2:25:32) finished third and fourth, respectively, to give Kenya the top four finishers in the Women’s race.
Benson Kipruto, who won the Prague Marathon in May, pulled away with less than 10 kilometres to go and had secured a commanding 41-second lead heading into the last mile, absorbing the cheers along Boylston Street as he broke the tape in 2:09:51. Ethiopians Lemi Berhanu and Jemal Yimer finished second and third, respectively.
Swiss athletes won the men's and women's wheelchair events, with Paralympic champion Marcel Hug picking up his fifth title in Boston in 1:18:11 despite missing a turn in the final moments of the race, an error he told officials may have cost him 20 seconds. Manuela Schar picked up her third Boston Marathon win in 1:35:21. Nell Rojas of Boulder, Colorado was the top American finisher, placing sixth with an unofficial finish of 2:27:12. Des Linden, who won the Boston Marathon in 2018, finished 17th in the Women’s field with a 02:35:25.
Organisers pushed the race back from its usual April date due to the COVID-19 pandemic and made other adjustments to the race, including capping participation to 20,000 entrants and requiring either a COVID-19 vaccine or proof of a negative test. The change in date made for a tight autumn racing schedule, with the London Marathon pushed back from its usual April running to Oct. 3 and the Chicago Marathon moving forward as planned to Oct. 10.
Temperatures hovered around 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.6°C) as the professional men's and women's groups took off from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, under humid conditions for the 125th running of the world's oldest annual marathon.