As the 2025 London Marathon fields were recently announced, so go the B.A.A. Boston Marathon as it happens on April 21 this year. Boston is not to be outdone. Kenyan Hellen Obiri and Ethiopian Sisay Lemma, defending Boston champions, are returning for 2025.
Women’s race
Obiri will be seeking her third consecutive Boston Marathon title. She will be the first since Fatuma Roba in 1999 to win three straight Bostons. In 2024, she clocked a solid 2:22:37 finish time. “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,” said Obiri. She will be hard-pressed to do so considering Amane Beriso of Ethiopia is toeing the line with her best of 2:14:58.
100 days to Go! pic.twitter.com/zhHiubL3TE
— Boston Marathon Pro (@Boston26_2_Pro) January 11, 2025
Other challengers include Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw, the 2022 London Marathon champion. She has run a 2:16:52 in Amsterdam. Kenyans Edna Kiplagat and Sharon Cherop.
The 35-year-old Obiri has come into her own in the marathon, having specialized in the 5000m distance for a number of years. She earned two Olympic silver medals in the 12.5-lap race. Obiri tackled the Tokyo and Beijing Olympic 5000s, then took bronze in the 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon. Obiri also earned silver in the World Athletics Championships 5000m.
Men’s race
Sisay Lemma from Ethiopia returns after a winning in 2024 with his 2:06:17 performance last year. Lemma has run as fast as 2:01:48 from where else but the 2023 Valencia Marathon. He is the fourth-fastest marathon runner in history. “I will be 100 per cent ready in April because the Boston Marathon is a special event,” shared Lemma.
Kenyans Evans Chebet (2:03:00, Valencia 2020) John Korir (2:02:44, Chicago 2024) will take in the race.
Seven of 11 of Lemma’s marathons have been run sub-2:06:00. The 34-year-old has been a marathon specialist from nearly the beginning of his career. In 2016, in his first fast marathon, he clocked a 2:06:56 Boston time, before the major changes engineered for super shoes.
That same year, Chebet ran Berlin in 2:05:31. The 36-year-old has run nine times under 2:09:00, with his personal best of 2:03:00 happening at the age of 31. Apparently, he is as fit as ever and will be ready to race. The 28-year-old Korir was fast, but not world-class elite until this year when he ran his 2:04:44 in Chicago — it must be the advancement of the shoe technology.