Kenya’s Hellen Obiri pulled away from the pack late but still won her first Boston Marathon.
This was also her first professional marathon.
Obiri was an injury replacement in the elite field of runners for the 127th Boston Marathon.
She managed to cross the finish line before anyone else at an unofficial time of 2:21:38.
She pulled away from a group of four other runners over the final couple of miles, beating out Ethiopia’s Amane Beriso by 12 seconds.
Lonah Salpeter of Kenya came in third at 2:21:57, while Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia came in fourth at 2:22:00.
Yeshaneh fell around the 23-mile mark, tangling legs with another runner in the pack, but got up and made her way back into the thick of the group.
American Emma Bates held a slight lead around the 25k mark.
Fortunately she fell back in the final stretch to finish fifth at 2:22:10.
Bates, who grew up in Elk River, Minnesota, was a 12-time All-American at Boise State University. She placed eighth in the 2022 New York City Marathon, and finished second in the 2021 Chicago Marathon.
American Desiree Linden, finished her 10th Boston Marathon in 2:27:18 to finish 18th in the women’s race.
Desiree Linden won a rain-soaked 2018 Boston Marathon.
