Hellen Obiri and Sisay Lemma are both set to defend their Boston Marathon titles and were announced on Wednesday as part of a stacked field that will line up in Hopkinton on April 21.
For Obiri, a win in April would be a historic feat as she would be among just five women to win three straight in Boston. Bobbi Gibb, Sara Mae Berman, Uta Pippig and Fatuma Roba pulled off three peats and Obiri looks to join their rare club.
“Defending a win is never easy, and to win the Boston Marathon twice in a row was hard, but I am happy to have done it,” Obiri said in a statement. “On race day I will again push for the win and hope to make it three in a row.”
Last April, Obiri crossed the finish line in 2:22:37 and held off a late effort from Sharon Lokedi, who took second in 2:22:45. This time around she will face a competitive field that includes women boasting solid sub-2:18 times and the experience to tackle arguably the toughest major courses.
Amane Beriso (2:14:58), Yalemzerf Yehualaw (2:16:52) and Irine Cheptai (2:17:51) have the personal bests to deny Obiri her historic third consective title and will be joined by Joan Melly, Keira D’Amato, Rahma Tusa Edna Kiplagat and Buze Diriba to fill out a packed women’s division.
“Boston annually brings together the world’s best each April, and this Patriots’ Day is no different,” Jack Fleming, CEO of the Boston Athletic Association said in a statement. “Coming off an Olympic year, top contenders from around the world have turned their attention to Boston and hope to etch their name into Boston Marathon lore with a victory.”
Meanwhile, Lemma also looks to repeat and is poised to defend his title after surging to a 2:06:17 win, the 10th fastest time in Boston Marathon history.
He heads up a group that have all the personal bests to stick with him in the later parts of April’s race. John Korir (2:02:44), Evans Chebet (2:03:00) and Cybrian Kotut (2:03:22) will be his main targets in the men’s field. Chebet is the two-time Boston Marathon champion and took third in 2024 while Korir was fourth.
“I was very happy after winning the Boston Marathon last year, and in 2025 I know it will be an even bigger challenge to win again,” Lemma said in a statement. “I was unlucky, because of an injury, not to be able to participate at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and I was not completely ready at the Valencia Marathon last December, but I will be 100% ready next April because the Boston Marathon is a special event.”
More than 30,000 runners will be in attendance for their shot at glory in Boston in April and for the non-elite runners, gaining entry got enough tougher in September as 12,324 time qualifiers did not make the cut.
A record 36,406 qualifying entries were submitted and according to the BAA, 24,069 qualifiers were accepted as the time standard was lowered for hopefuls. Runners in their respective age and gender groups had to be 6:51 faster than the posted qualifying times to earn a spot.
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