Kenya was represented with excellence in the 2023 Boston Marathon as Evans Chebet won for the second straight time and Hellen Obiri won her first title, reports USA Today,
Chebet took home the top prize in Copley Square after running an unofficial time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 54 seconds. He defeated Eliud Kipchoge, who was the favorite, by more than 3 minutes. With this victory, he became the first man to win back-to-back Boston Marathons since Robert Cheruiyot accomplished the feat in 2008.
Gabriel Geay of Tanzania came in second at 2:06:04 and fellow Kenyan Benson Kipruto came in third with a time of 2:06:06.
Following his victory, Chebet said his primary focus was the defense of his title.
"The bottom line was that we trained well," said Chebet. "Our confidence in the quality of our training made us feel good about taking on this race."
On the women’s side, Hellen Obiri agreed to compete in the marathon last month, leaving her with less than a month to prepare for the race. The victory marked Obiri's first win in a marathon. Previously, she won silver medals in the 5000-meter events at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2021 Tokyo Games.
"My coach told me that the marathon is about patience," Obiri said to reporters after her win. "So I tried to be patient until the right time."
Following Obiri was Amane Beriso of Ethiopia who came in second, finishing at 2:21:50, and Lonah Salpeter of Israel placed third, with a time of 2:21:57.
Over 30,000 athletes from the 50 U.S. states and more than 100 countries participated in the Boston Marathon, which is considered one of the most highly-regarded races in the world,
