Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma laid down a marker for the Paris Olympics with victory in the Boston Marathon ending Evans Chebet’s pursuit of a third consecutive title. Lemma set the early pace in the men’s elite competition and flew out ahead of the rest of the field to open a gap on the rest.
He was left to his own devices and for three-quarters of the run looked on track to beat the course record. The difficult and hilly last 10km put those thoughts to an end as Lemma’s pace dropped off massively with the chasers only growing stronger. Mohamed Esa came through late on to claim second with Chebet third but the damage was done as Lemma crossed the line over a minute ahead of his rivals.
Hellen Obiri celebrated a second win in as many years in the women’s elite race but was forced to work hard for her victory. Throughout the course she attempted to pull away but was drawn into the field until the final few miles. Five runners broke away with Obiri and Sharon Lokedi further distancing themselves. It was a two-woman race leading to the final mile but the Kenyan had more energy in reserve and powered to the line.
Eden Rainbow-Cooper also became the first British won to claim a title at the Boston Marathon as she triumphed over Manuela Schar in the women’s wheelchair event while Marcel Hug broke his own course record in the men’s wheelchair race as Britain’s David Weir finished third.
Relive our coverage of the marathon with the live blog below:
