Peris Jepchirchir wins Boston Marathon

Olympic Champion Peris Jepchirchir wins Boston Marathon [Reuters]

Reigning Olympic Champion Peris Jepchirchir and Evans Chebet are the 2022 Boston Marathon champions.

Jepchirchir’s victory on the streets of Boston on Monday, April 18, is the third-fastest time in the history of the race.

The hard-fought win takes her World Marathon Majors title to two after she added another feather to the New York title.

This victory also makes Jepchirchir, 28, the first and only athlete, male or female, to have both the Olympic, New York and Boston titles in the same year.

She cut the tape just four seconds ahead of Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh after clocking (2:21.02). Yeshaneh who in February 2020 broke the world half-marathon record (1:04:31) at the RAK Half Marathon, clocked 2:21.06.

Mary Ngugi came third in 2:21.32 ahead of 42-year old Ednah Kiplagat who came a distant fourth.

For the first time ever, the Boston marathon organisers had a Swahili interpreter who was used during the post-race interviews. The move was applauded by Kenyans on social media.

On an evening of domination in both categories, Kenya had a clean podium sweep in the men’s category.

Evans Chebet who finished fourth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics led compatriots Lawrence Cherono and Benson Kipruto in a 1-2-3 victory.

Chebet cut the ape in 2:06.51 with Cherono stopping the clock in 2:07.21, just six seconds ahead of Kipruto who stopped the timers in 2:07.27.

Kipruto went to the race as the defending champion while Cherono won this race in 2019.

Boston race starts on the downhill at the main street in Hopkinton before runners turn to route 135 through Ashland, Framingham, Natick before reaching halfway point at Wellesley.

The course then joins Route 16 and continues through Newton Lower Falls before turning onto Commonwealth Avenue, with runners going through the Newton Hills, Brookline, Kenmore Square and under Massachusetts Avenue. They’ll turn onto Hereford Street and then Boylston Street, finishing near the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.