Hellen Obiri going for Boston Marathon three-peat
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Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 09.01.25. | 10:01
The 35-year-old comes up against a field that has seven women with sub-2:20 PBs
Kenya's Hellen Obiri will look to etch her name in history when she goes out for a three-peat in this year's Boston Marathon scheduled for 21 April.
The three-time Olympic medalist was on Wednesday confirmed to be going for her triple crown, following successive wins on the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in 2023 and 2024.
ICYMI: The @BAA announced today that the professional open division for the 2025 Boston Marathon presented by @BankofAmerica will feature athletes from 20 countries, including Olympic medalists, Boston Champions, and top American talent.🤩👏
— Boston Marathon (@bostonmarathon) January 8, 2025
Full field at https://t.co/OBOaeyVUcb pic.twitter.com/zXb9zCF07C
In the race's history, only four other women have won three times in a row.
They include: Bobbi Gibb, Sara Mae Berman, Uta Pippig, and Ethiopia's Fatuma Roba, who recently achieved the feat in 1999.
Speaking to World Athletics, Obiri, who also won an Olympics marathon bronze medal in Paris, said: "Defending a win is never easy, and to win the Boston Marathon twice in a row was hard, but I am happy to have done it.
On race day I will again push for the win and hope to make it three in a row.”
In her first attempt in the race that prominently features the tough ascend - Heartbreak Hill - Obiri, 35, outsprinted Ethiopia's Amane Beriso to win in a time of 2:21:38, before repeating the same feat a year later under tough opposition from compatriot Sharon Lokedi.
Obiri, after her impressive recovery from a fall to finish third in Paris, closed out the year in New York, where she came second (2:24:49) behind surprise winner Sheila Chepkirui.
And in what promises to be a blockbuster in Boston, Obiri, the only woman in history to have won world titles indoors, outdoors and at cross country, will be up against seven women with sub-2:20 PBs.
Among them are the aforementioned 2023 and 2024 runners-ups Beriso and Lokedi, plus 2022 London Marathon champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw.
Hamburg Marathon champion Irene Cheptai, ranked third-fastest in the elite field with a personal-best of 2:17:51, meanwhile joins fellow Kenyans Edna Kiplagat (a two-time Boston winner), 2012 Boston Marathon winner Sharon Cherop, Viola Chepngeno, this year's Great North Run champion Mary Ngugi Cooper, and Stacy Ndiwa.
For the American field, former North American record-holder Keira D’Amato is the fastest of the US entrants and will be joined by Emma Bates, Sara Vaughn, Lindsay Flanagan, Sara Hall and 2018 Boston Marathon Desiree Linden.
