Chebet,Jepchirchir win 126th Boston Marathon

Kenyan duo of Peres Jepchirchir and Evans Chebet of Kenya won the Boston Marathon on Monday as the race returned to its traditional Patriots’ Day spot in the schedule for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Olympic Champion Jepchirchir captured the women’s pro division in a dramatic duel down the stretch against Ethiopia’s Arabel Yeshaneh at the iconic race.

Congratulations! #TeamKenya 🇰🇪 Evans Chebet leads Kenyan sweep at Boston Marathon, winning in 2:06:51; Lawrence Cherono second, Benson Kipruto third. @AMB_A_Mohammed @JoeOkudo pic.twitter.com/N534u0R2KR

— Ministry Of Sports, Culture & Heritage (@moscakenya) April 18, 2022

Her time of 2:21:01 was four seconds ahead of Yeshaneh and punctuated her fourth consecutive win in a marathon on the 50th anniversary of the first women’s competition in Boston.

The former New York Marathon winner became the first athlete, male or female, to win all three in a year.

“It means a lot to me to win Boston,” Jepchirchir said in a television interview following the trophy presentation. “I know there’s more victories to come.”

In the men’s race, Chebet took the lead with roughly five miles left and won in 2:06:51 to give Kenya a sweep in the men’s and women’s pro divisions.

He finished 30 seconds ahead of countryman Lawrence Cherono to win his first major marathon. Kenyan runners finished 1-2-3 in the men’s pro division.

The 126th running of the Boston Marathon marked the event’s return to its spot on Patriots’ Day, the Massachusetts state holiday, since the coronavirus pandemic forced a cancellation in 2020, and a delay to early October in 2021.

This year’s fields at the Boston Marathon were considered among the most competitive ever given the other major spring marathon in London was pushed back to October because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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