Sharon Lokedi smashes Boston Marathon record as she denies Hellen Obiri historic 'three-peat'
Obiri, who was eyeing a historic three-peat, finished second with a time of 2:17:41, her personal best time in the marathon.
The 2022 New York Marathon champion, Sharon Lokedi, overpowered Hellen Obiri in a thrilling finish to win the 2025 Boston Marathon with a course record time of 2:17:22, breaking the previous record of 2:19:59 set by the Ethiopian Buzunesh Deba in 2014.
"I feel great. I am so excited," Lokedi said after winning the race before praising her training partner, Hellen Obiri. "She is a great competitor. I always finished second to her, and today she pushed me hard."
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"It is unbelievable," Lokedi said on setting a new course record.
Lokedi, 31, for a long time a princess in the 42-kilometre race, finally hacked the order of succession in women's marathon as she dethroned her training partner and compatriot Obiri.
For three years, Lokedi had played second fiddle to Obiri, finishing behind her in third, second, and fourth place at the 2023 New York Marathon, 2024 Boston Marathon, and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, respectively.
In the final two kilometres, with the race down to a contest between the two of them, Lokedi showed dogged determination to stay ahead of Obiri.
Obiri, equally determined, stalked Lokedi's shoulder as she waited for her moment to pounce, but Lokedi had no patience for her training partner's predatory instincts.
With a kilometre to go, Lokedi sprinted away to the sunset, and at the finish line, in a cocktail of emotions comprising joy and pleasant disbelief, she remembered her past losses to Obiri, but she was magnanimous enough to praise her.
"She is a great competitor. I always finished second to her, and today she pushed me hard," she said of Obiri because describing her record performance as "unbelievable".
Prize money
Lokedi's smile at her victory at the finish line went all the way to the bank. On top of the $150,000 (Sh19.5 million) for first place, Lokedi also earned a $50,000 (Sh6.5 million) bonus for setting a new course record.
Third place went to the Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw, whom the gold-chasing duo Lokedi and Obiri had dropped shortly before the 40-kilometre mark. Yehualaw capped the fastest women's Boston Marathon in history, with her finishing time of 2:18:06 also being below the previous course record time of 2:19:59 set by her compatriot Buzuness Deba in 2014.
Yehualaw gate-crashed a Kenyan sweep of the podium as Irine Cheptai, who relented to the race's high pace after 32 kilometres, finished fourth with a time of 2:21:32.
Ethiopia's Amane Beriso, the reigning world champion who was a heavy pre-race favourite by her remarkable personal best time of 2:14:58, threatened to steal the show with her injection of pace at the 10th-kilometre mark. However, she faded after 30 kilometres to finish fifth with a time of 2:21:58.
Still, it was Beriso upping the ante after 10 kilometres that shaped the outcome of the race as the increased intensity turned the race into an East African affair, decimating hopes for an American victory.
Despite the East Africans taking centre-stage, Britain's Thackery Calli, and the American duo of Jess McClain and Annie Frisbie did enough to recover to finish in the top as they clocked 2:22:38, 2:22:43, and 2:23:21 to rank sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively.
Kenya's Stacy Ndiwa, who was making her debut, finished ninth with a time of 2:23:29, 14 seconds ahead of 10th-placed Tsige Haileslase of Ethiopia.
2025 Boston Marathon results
Women’s Elite
1. Sharon Lokedi (KEN) -- 2:17:22
2. Hellen Obiri (KEN) -- 2:17:41
3. Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) -- 2:18:06
4. Irine Cheptai (KEN) -- 2:21:32
5. Amane Beriso (ETH) -- 2:21:58
6. Calli Thackery (GBR) -- 2:22:38
7. Jess McClain (USA) -- 2:22:43
8. Annie Frisbie (USA) -- 2:23:21
9. Stacy Ndiwa (KEN) -- 2:23:29
10. Tsige Haileslase (ETH) -- 2:23:43
2025 Boston Marathon prize money breakdown
1. Sh19.5 million ($150,000)
2. Sh9.7 million ($75,000)
3. Sh5.18 million ($40,000)
4. Sh3.24 million ($25,000)
5. Sh2.33 million ($18,000)
6. Sh1.75 million ($13,500)
7. Sh1.36 million ($10,500)
8. Sh1.10 million ($8,500)
9. Sh0.9 million ($7,000)
10. Sh0.71 million ($5,500)
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