Peres Jepchirchir, Evans Chebet win men's and women's races as Kenya dominates 2022 Boston Marathon

Olympic champion and women's marathon powerhouse Peres Jepchirchir edged a thrilling victory over Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh to win the 2022 Boston Marathon on Monday (April 18).

The race was the sixth-closest finish in women's race history, as Jepchirchir (2:21:01) defeated Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) by just four seconds (2:21:05) followed by Mary Ngugi (KEN) who clocked 2:21:32 to finish third. With this win, Jepchirchir is just the fifth Olympic Marathon champion to win the Boston Marathon.

Peres Jepchirchir, an athlete with the third-fastest timing in the history of the event following her win, told the media:

“Above all, I was feeling she (Ababel Yeshaneh) was strong and I pushed it, I feel I’m tired. I go behind but I didn’t lose hope. The course is tough but thank God I managed to win the race."

Evans Chebet wins men's 2022 Boston Marathon

Kenya's Evans Chebet avenged a 2018 DNF (Did Not Finish) to pull off a scintillating win in the men's race after clocking in 2:06:51 to clinch his first Boston Marathon title.

Meanwhile, Lawrence Cherono - the 2019 Boston Marathon winner - finished second with a time of 2:07:21. Last year's winner, Benson Kipruto, managed a third-place finish in 2:07:27.

The Kenyans showed complete dominance in both the men's and women's races at the 126th Boston Marathon. Following his victory, Evans Chebet said:

"I knew that my competitors were capable of a lot so I was really trying to give them range so that they were behind me and they stayed behind me. In 2018, I ran (the Boston Marathon) but I had to sit down and rest so I didn’t finish. So this is a commendable performance because today I completed the race."

The 2022 Boston Marathon featured more than 28,000 runners from all 50 US states and 120 countries. People from the ages of 18-83 participated in the famed 26.2-mile course that starts in rural Hopkinton and ends on Boylston Street in Boston.