Sharon Lokedi delivered a masterclass in grit, pacing, and power on Monday as she stormed to victory in the 2025 Boston Marathon, smashing a course record by more than two minutes with a blistering time of 2:17:22.
The 31-year-old Kenyan, who finished second in last year’s race, went one better this time — and did it in sensational style.
Locked in a tense final-mile duel with two-time defending champion Hellen Obiri, Lokedi found another gear in the closing stretch, surging ahead to win by 19 seconds and cement her status as a marathon queen.
The women’s field started fast — and it showed. Lokedi admitted she was stunned by the tempo early on, especially after seeing their half-marathon split clock in under 69 minutes.
As Boston’s notorious hills loomed in the second half, Lokedi — though unsure if she’d gone out too hard — held steady. The lead pack thinned from over a dozen to five, then three, before the showdown between Kenya’s finest took center stage.
Despite Obiri’s fearsome track record as a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 5,000m, it was Lokedi who delivered the knockout blow — powering away on Boylston Street and rewriting history.
The previous course record, 2:19:59, set by Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba in 2014, now belongs to the archives. Boston belongs to Lokedi.
Boston Marathon results, leaderboard
Here are the results from the 129th edition of the Boston Marathon:
Women’s professional
- Sharon Lokedi, Kenya: 2:17:22
- Hellen Obiri, Kenya: 2:17:41
- Yalemzerf Yehualaw, Ethiopia: 2:18:06
- Irene Cheptai, Kenya: 2:21:32
- Amane Beriso, Ethiopia: 2:21:58
- Calli Hauger-Thackery, Great Britain: 2:22:38
- Jess McClain, United States: 2:22:43
- Annie Frisbie, United States: 2:23:21
- Stacy Ndiwa, Kenya: 2:23:29
- Tsige Haileslase, Ethiopia: 2:23:43
