Boston Marathon makes springtime return

The 2022 Boston Marathon returned to its traditional mid-April spot after the previous two years were derailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thirty-thousand participants congregated in the pre-dawn hours on Monday in Hopkington, Massachusetts, for the start of the race.

Crowds lined the 26.2 mile course (42.16 kilometres) to cheer on the athletes running in the 126th edition of the race, which was held six months after a socially distanced field ran in the autumn.

Evans Chabet of Kenya won the men's competition, finishing with a time of 02:06:51. This was Chabet's first major marathon win after being victorious in Buenos Aires in 2019 and Valencia in 2020. Last year's winner, Benson Kipruto, finished third.

In the women's elite field, Olympic gold medalist Peres Jepchirchir pulled away from Ababel Yeshaneh in the final metres of the 26.2 mile race to finish in 02:21:02. Yeshaneh crossed the finish line on Boylston Street four seconds later.

This was Jepchichir's fifth consecutive marathon win, a streak that dates back to 2019 and includes the 2021 New York City Marathon.

The Boston Athletic Association, which hosts the race, disinvited Russian and Belarusian athlete's from this year's competition in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The BAA offered registered Ukrainians unable to participate in the race a refund or an option to defer for a future year.

"We believe that running is a global sport, and as such, we must do what we can to show our support to the people of Ukraine," BAA chief executive Tom Grilk said in a statement.

The event commemorated the 50th anniversary of the women's division.

But in 1966 Bobbi Gibb became the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon when she snuck into the field and ran as