Peres Jepchirchir Wins the Boston Marathon Women’s Race


It was a marathon, but it ended with a sprint.

Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and 2021 New York Marathon winner, Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, took the third major crown in less than a year in a tough victory at the Boston Marathon at 2 hours 21 minutes 2 seconds on Monday.

Jepchirchir had to contend with a daring challenge from Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh, better known as a half-marathoner.

Kenyan Mary Ngugi finished third.

Jepchirchir was the instigator of almost all the big moves in the race. At Mile 6, the leader pushed the pace to slow the pack down to about 10.

Nine miles later the herd was down to four, and shortly after three: Jepchirchir, Joyciline Jepkosgei, and Yeshaneh.

The three of them ran together for most of the race, but two hours later, Jepchirchir made another move, leaving him alone with Yeshaneh.

The two ran step-by-step until they had gone a mile when Jepchirchir started a sprint. Much less heralded, however, Yeshaneh fought to regain leadership. They continued to change the lead at the last minute, leaving the winner in doubt until the last seconds.

With the finish line in sight, Jepchirchir eventually withdrew to win by four seconds.

It was celebrated as the 50th anniversary of women who had previously secretly entered the race, rejecting the ban on their gender and officially participating in the race.



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