Ethiopian national Sisay Lemma wins Boston Marathon

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Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia set a blistering pace and held on to win the Boston Marathon on Monday, running alone through most of the course to finish in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 17 seconds — the 10th fastest time in the race's 128-year history.

Hellen Obiri defended her title in the women's race, outsprinting fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi down Boylston Street to win by eight seconds. Obiri is the first woman to win back-to-back Boston Marathons since 2005.

Lemma arrived in Boston with the fastest time in the field, becoming just the fourth person ever to break 2:02:00 when he won in Valencia last year. And the 2021 London champion showed it on the course, separating himself from the pack in Ashland and opening a lead of more than half of a mile.

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Lemma ran the first half in 60:19 — 99 seconds faster than Geoffrey Mutai's course record pace in 2011, when he finished in 2:03:02 — the fastest marathon in history to that point. Fellow Ethiopian Mohamed Esa closed the gap through the last few miles, finishing second by 41 seconds; two-time defending champion Evans Chebet was third.

Lemma dropped to the pavement and rolled onto his back, smiling, after crossing the finish line.

"I decided that I wanted to start fast early," said Lemma, whose victory in London in 2021 was his only other major marathon victory. "I kept the pace and I won."

On a day when sunshine and temperatures rising into the mid-60s left the runners reaching for water — to drink, and to dump over their heads — Obiri ran with an unusually large lead pack of 15 through Brookline