Runners at the ready: Boston Marathon runners compete in 128th edition
128th Boston Marathon A general view of the finish line during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
ByNatalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Thousands of runners traveled to the small town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, for the 128th running of the Boston Marathon.
Hopkinton has been the starting line for the prestigious race for 100 years, The Associated Press reported.
Seventeen past marathon champions and about 30,000 others started their quest to finish the 26.2-mile route, which ends on Boston’s Boylston Street.
Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia was the men’s winner of the race, finishing the grueling course with an unofficial 2:06:17 and marking his first Boston Marathon victory.
.@SisayLemma breaks the tape in an unofficial 2:06:18 for his first Boston Marathon win.
Evans Chebet would have earned his third straight win and become only the fifth in the history of the race to have three straight wins, but Lemma dashed those hopes, USA Today reported.
Hellen Obiri from Kenya is the winner of the women’s division, making her the first to win back-to-back championships since 2005, the AP reported.
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug crashed after taking a turn too fast, but still set a course record while competing in the men’s wheelchair division. It was his seventh championship.
He had a four-minute lead near the 18-mile mark when he had to navigate a turn in Newton. He hit the fence, flipping his chair on the left wheel, but was able to right himself quickly.
Hug finished the race in 1 hour, 15 minutes and 33 seconds, breaking his previous record by 1:33.
.@MarcelEricHug crosses the finish line in 1:15:35, crushing his own CR of 1:17:06, set just last year. This, after crashing into a fence as he made the turn into the Newton Hills.
Monday also marked the eleventh anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing, which occurred on April 15, 2013. Organizers marked the anniversary at the finish line on Boylston Street, the site of the bombing that killed three people and wounded hundreds of others.
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128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: A general view of the finish line during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: A general view of the 128th Boston Marathon logo on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Boston Marathon Grand Marshal and former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski shows off the winner's trophy at the finish line during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) (Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Boston Marathon Grand Marshal and former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski shows off the winner's trophy at the finish line during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) (Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Boston Marathon Grand Marshal and former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski shows off the winner's trophy at the finish line during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) (Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Boston Marathon Grand Marshal and former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski shows off the winner's trophy at the finish line during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) (Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Marcel Hug of Switzerland poses with the trophy on the finish line after winning the professional Men's Wheelchair Division during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Marcel Hug of Switzerland poses with the trophy on the finish line after winning the professional Men's Wheelchair Division during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Eden Rainbow Cooper of the United Kingdom approaches the finish line to win the Professional Women's Wheelchair Division at the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) (Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Eden Rainbow Cooper of Great Britain poses with the trophy on the finish line after winning the professional Women's Wheelchair Division during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Eden Rainbow Cooper of Great Britain crosses the finish line to win the Professional Women's Wheelchair Division at the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Eden Rainbow Cooper of the United Kingdom approaches the finish line to win the Professional Women's Wheelchair Division at the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) (Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Eden Rainbow Cooper of Great Britain poses with the trophy on the finish line after winning the professional Women's Wheelchair Division during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Marcel Hug of Switzerland (L), and Eden Rainbow Cooper of Great Britain pose with the trophy on the finish line after winning the professional Women's and Men's Wheelchair Divisions during the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) (Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia crosses the finish line to win the Professional Men's Division at the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia crosses the finish line to win the Professional Men's Division at the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia celebrates after winning the Professional Men's Division at the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia celebrates after winning the Professional Men's Division at the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
128th Boston Marathon BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 15: Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia celebrates after winning the Professional Men's Division at the 128th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) (Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)