John Korir won the 2025 Boston Marathon, following in his brother’s footsteps. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Maddie Meyer via Getty Images)
The 2025 Boston Marathon has a new winner on the men’s side. John Korir won the event Monday with a time of 2:04:45.
Korir, a runner from Kenya, hung with the pack throughout most of the race, but a late surge pushed him way ahead of the other runners down the stretch. Tanzanian runner Alphonce Felix Simbu and Kenyan runner Cybrian Kotut finished tied for second with a time of 2:05:04. American Conner Mantz turned in his best performance at the Boston Marathon, finishing fourth with a time of 2:05:08.
With the win, Korir joins his brother Wesley as sibling winners of the Boston Marathon. Wesley Korir won the event in 2012 with a time of 2:12:40.
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John came into the Boston Marathon with a lot of momentum. He won the 2024 Chicago Marathon with a blazing time of 2:02:44. In doing so, John became the first man to win both events since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot pulled off the feat, winning the 2006 Chicago Marathon and the 2007 Boston Marathon.
Prior to Monday’s win, John performed well at the Boston Marathon. In his two other appearances in the event, John finished fourth and ninth. Ahead of the 2025 Boston Marathon, John said he received advice from Wesley on how to win the event, per the Ravalli Republic.
“He knows the course well. He knows where to make a move and also to relax the legs,” said the younger Korir, whose time of 2 hours, 2 minutes, 44 seconds in Chicago is the second-fastest in Monday’s Boston field. “So that’s been a good help to me in training. I think it’s good.”
Before the race, John pledged his 2025 Boston Marathon winnings to Transcend Talent Academy, a middle school in Kenya.
Last year’s winner, Sisay Lemma, got out to a good start, but eventually pulled out of the race. Lemma reportedly pulled to the side around the 17th mile to stretch and did not return to action. The Ethiopian runner won last year’s Boston Marathon with a time of 2:06:17.
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya crosses the finish line to win the 129th Boston Marathon Women’s division on April 21, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Maddie Meyer via Getty Images)
It was tense down the stretch, but Sharon Lokedi defeated Hellen Obiri to win the professional women’s portion of the 2025 Boston Marathon in record fashion.
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Lokedi won the event with a time of 2:17:20, shattering the previous course record of 2:19:59. Obiri finished second with a time of 2:17:41 and Yalemzerf Yehualaw took third with a time of 2:18:06.
As the women’s event came down to the wire, three women pulled away from the pack — Obiri, Lokedi and Yehualaw. Those three were neck and neck in the final miles of the race. Just before the final stretch, Beriso fell behind, making it a two-woman race. Obiri and Lokedi were separated by just inches before Lokedi opened up a lead with 1,000 meters left.
That was enough for Lokedi to come out victorious.
It was quite the win for the Kenyan runner, not only setting a new course record, but she prevented Obiri from securing a three-peat.
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Obiri, a Kenyan runner, came into the event after winning the Boston Marathon in both 2023 and 2024. Lokedi finished in second in 2024, just behind Obiri. With a win, Obiri would have been one of five women to win the event in three consecutive years. Obiri fought hard until the very last moment, but it was Lokedi who came out on top in 2025.
It marks the second career win in a major marathon for Lokedi, who also won the New York City Marathon in 2022.
