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

Peres Jepchirchir (L), Evans Chebet (R) at the 2022 Boston Marathon
Peres Jepchirchir (L), Evans Chebet (R) at the 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.

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