Sharon Lokedi won the Boston Marathon title on Monday for the second time in a row after crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 51 seconds and cemented her place among the race's great champions.
Lokedi took control of the women's race as the field entered the Newton Hills, a difficult stretch that has broken many a marathon bid over the years.
The Kenyan athlete didn’t just survive but thrived and became a champion once again.
Her lead expanded with every mile that followed, and by the time she turned onto Boylston Street she was smiling, having pulled off her gloves as she passed through Coolidge Corner in Brookline with the race long decided.
Marathon runners were met with challenging conditions as temperatures reached 30s at the start of the day, though they climbed to around 45 degrees Fahrenheit by race time.
Lokedi had broken the women's course record last year by more than two and a half minutes. She could not repeat that feat on Monday, but her victory was no less commanding.
Loice Chemnung finished second, 44 seconds behind, with Mary Ngugi-Cooper taking third. American runner Jess McClain, who posted the fastest marathon time ever recorded by an American woman, finished fifth.
Lokedi was not the only back-to-back champion crowned on Monday. Fellow Kenyan John Korir won the men's race and shattered the Boston Marathon course record in doing so.
Both winners took home $150,000 each and a gilded olive wreath sent from the plains of Marathon, Greece, a nod to the ancient origins of a race that continues to write remarkable stories of its own.
