History was set in Boston on Monday. According to George Ramsay of CNN, Sharon Lokedi of Burnt Forest, Kenya posted the fastest time ever by a woman at the Boston Marathon, as she had a time of 2:17.22.
Who had the previous record?
Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia had the previous record time of 2:19.59 in 2014. Deba initially finished in second place behind Rita Jeptoo of Kenya, who had a winning time of 2:18.57. However, Jeptoo had her Boston Marathon title stripped because she had failed a doping test in September of 2014, five months after winning the event.
Who were the other elite female marathon runners on Monday?
Hellen Obiri of Kenya finished in second place with a time of 2:17.41. Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia finished in third place with a time of 2:18.06. What was remarkable was the fact that Obiri and Yehualaw also ran faster than Deba did 11 years ago. So, in essence, we had the three fastest times ever by a woman at the 2025 Boston Marathon. Lokedi, meanwhile reached the podium by four minutes and 10 seconds. Irene Chepet Cheptai of Kenya finished in fourth place with a time of 2:21.32.
What are Lokedi’s other notable accomplishments?
Lokedi previously won the 2022 New York Marathon. Three years ago she posted a winning time of 2:23.23, and beat Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel by seven seconds. Lokedi also won the silver medal at the 2024 Boston Marathon (finished behind Obiri), and third at the 2023 New York City Marathon (finished behind champion Obiri and silver medalist Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia).
Who were the fastest male runners at the Boston Marathon?
John Korir of Kenya had the fastest time of 2:04.45. Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania won the silver medal with a time of 2:05.04, and Cybrian Kotut of Kenya also posted a time of 2:05.04 in winning the bronze medal.
50th anniversary of wheelchair racing
This was a special Boston Marathon because it was the 50th anniversary that Bob Hall of Belmont, Massachusetts became the first wheelchair racer of the Boston Marathon. On Monday, the men’s wheelchair champion of the Boston Marathon was Marcel Hug of Switzerland, and the women’s wheelchair champion was American Susannah Scaroni of Burns, Oregon.
