Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi breaks Boston Marathon course record

Sharon Lokedi, 31, broke the Boston Marathon course record on Monday as the city celebrated the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution.

The Kenyan outran two-time defending champion Hellen Obiri over the final mile a year after losing a sprint down Boylston Street to her in one of the closest finishes in race history.

Lokedi finished the 129th Boston Marathon in an unofficial 2 hours, 17 minutes, 22 seconds — 19 seconds ahead of Obiri and more than 2½ minutes faster than the previous Boston best set by Buzunesh Deba in 2014. It was Lokedi’s second major marathon victory, having won the 2022 New York marathon.
Jess McClain was the top American woman, finishing in seventh place with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, 43 seconds. It was a personal best for McClain by three minutes.

American Annie Frisbie was just behind in the eighth spot with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, 21 seconds.

Meanwhile, John Korir of Kenya joined his brother as a Boston Marathon champion on Monday.

Six months after winning Chicago, Korir mastered the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston’s Copley Square in an unofficial 2 hours, 4 minutes, 44 seconds — the second-fastest winning time in race history.

After crossing the line, he was greeted by his older brother, 2012 Boston winner Wesley Korir. Although the race has been won by a pair of unrelated John Kelleys and two different Robert Cheruiyots, the Korirs are the first brothers — or relatives of any kind — to win the world’s oldest and most prestigious annual marathon.

Korir tumbled near the starting line but recovered quickly from the fall and pulled away at the 20-mile mark, building a minute cushion between himself and the rest of the field with two miles to go.

Korir, who appeared to lose his bib in his early fall, pulling it out of his running tights as he sprinted down Boylston Street. He had the paper in his hands as he held his arms out wide to break the tape at the finish.

Conner Mantz of Provo, Utah, finished fourth after losing a three-way sprint to the finish with Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania and Cybrian Kotut of Kenya. Simbu was second and Kotut was third.

By ESPN