The eyes of all the sports enthusiasts were on the tracks of the Boston Marathon 2023 and there is a proper reason for that. For the unversed, let me inform you that the Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race. Several cities in Greater Boston host this race on the third Monday of April. Following the tradition, the race is held on Patriots’ Day. This unique race started back in 1897, therefore, becoming one of the oldest marathon races in the world.
This year, the race was even more exciting. At the centre of the attraction was the men’s event. All eyes were set on it to see the winner. The hot favourite for the race was Eliud Kipchoge, who is the reigning world record holder. However, many people also backed Evans Chabet from Kenya to make it to the finishing line first. On the other hand, Hellen Obiri entered into the pages of history by winning the women’s event. What is more interesting is that this was her second career marathon. Therefore, if you wish to know more about the event and its results, then this article is the perfect stop for you.
Evans Chabet Outperforms Eliud Kipchoge
We already know that Eliud was backed by many as the expected champion of the men’s marathon. However, things did not go in the favour of the world record holder. On the other hand, Evans stormed the rainy track on Monday, emerging as the back-to-back champion in the event. He finished the race in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 54 seconds, to clinch the title.
On the other hand, Eliud’s performance shocked the sports world. Not only did he finish the race by taking over 3 minutes more time than Evans, but also he shockingly earned a sixth-place finish. In fact, this is the third time in 20 marathons that he did not make it to the top place. After the race, the champion Evans stated that he aimed at defending his title and also added that he did not focus on beating Kipchoge. In addition, he also praised their hard training for the results.
The Case of Eliud
Eliud has had an illustrious career in marathons. Though he is 38 years old at present, he has been the reigning personality for the last decade. In this period, he has won 2 Olympic Gold Medals and has also broken the world record. In fact, he is the only man in the world, who has completed a marathon race in less than two hours. Therefore, in spite of his first appearance on the Boston track, he was already a hot favourite.
However, much before he started the race, there were some questions about his results. He is used to training on flat courses and has achieved all his success on flat tracks. However, the track in Boston has some hilly stretches, which arrive at the midday period of the race. Yet, he began the race on a high note, dominating much of the first part of the race. As drizzles set in, the group of over 20 racers turned into a pack of seven. Kipchge also missed grabbing his water bottle and kept running without water.
As a result, he fell 16 seconds behind the leader at Mile 20, creating a gap which extended to nearly a minute at Mile 21. Finally, Gabriel Geay and Benson Kipruto finished second and third respectively behind Evans.
Obiri Dominate The Women’s Event
A quick switch to the women’s race will show you how good Hellen Obiri has been in clinching her first victory in a marathon. She showed impressive speed down the stretch and made it to the finishing line in 2 hours, 2 minutes and 38 seconds. Though she is known for her stunning performance in shorter formats of the race, this was her second attempt at running a marathon. She has been the silver medalist at both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2021 Tokyo Games in the 5000 meters event.
Therefore, entering the race in just the last month, she has made a stunning result and for this glory, she has widely praised her coach. After the win, she stated that her coach told her to be patient in the race and that is what helped her in her victory. Behind her, Amane Beriso of Ethiopia and Lonah Salpeter of Israel finished the race in the second and the third spots respectively.
FAQs
1. Who is the winner of the Bostin Marathon 2023 in the men’s event?
For the men’s event, Evans Chabet from Kenya won the title.
2. Who is the winner of the Bostin Marathon 2023 in the women’s event?
For the women’s event, Hellen Obiri won the title.
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