Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma obliterated the field to claim victory at the Boston Marathon while denying Kenya’s Evans Chebet a chance to make it three straight titles.
Ethiopian Sisay Lemma evoked memories of the late Kelvin Kiptum as he totally destroyed the field to win the Boston Marathon on Monday April 15.
Lemma took off as soon as the race started and never looked back, taking a giant lead against his competitors, who included defending champion Evans Chebet, who was out to make it three straight titles in Boston.
Lemma hit the 20km mark in 57:13 before reaching 30km in 1:26:56, giving him a two-minute and 48-second lead against the chasing pack.
Chebet and compatriot Albert Korir tried to close the gap on him but his pace was too much for them to handle as he claimed victory in a time of 2:016:18 with his compatriot Mohamed Esa second in 2:06:58 while Chebet was third after clocking 2:07:22.
Sisay’s tactic brought back the memories of Kiptum who also run a solo race in London and Chicago last year when he achieved what was the second fastest time in history before breaking the world record.
After setting the course record at the Valencia Marathon in December (2:01.48), becoming the fourth man to run a marathon less than two hours and two minutes, 33-year-old Ethiopian was looking to carry his momentum into an improved effort in Boston a delivered in style.
It was a good return to Boston for Sisay who has struggled previously with the hilly terrain, failing to finish in 2017 and 2022 while managing a 30th place in 2019.
For Chebet, his desire to join the exclusive club of three-time winners will have to wait for another year while his hopes of making a late entry into Team Kenya to the Paris Olympics looks to have disappeared.
