Peres Jepchirchir Wins the Boston Marathon in a Thrilling Finish

It was a marathon, but it ended in a sprint.

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and 2021 New York City Marathon winner, landed a third major crown in less than a year with a hard-fought victory in the Boston Marathon on Monday in 2 hours 21 minutes 1 second.

Jepchirchir had to fight off a spirited challenge from Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia, much better known as a half-marathoner.

Jepchirchir told WBZ, a local Boston CBS station, that her “dream” was to run the Boston Marathon someday.

“I’m feeling great, I’m so happy,” she said after the race. “I’m fulfilling my dreams, I’m feeling grateful and I’m still motivating myself. I can do more.”

Jepchirchir said she was feeling tired in the homestretch, but saved the last of her energy for the final sprint. With under 3 miles left to go, “I knew I was going to win” she said.

Mary Ngugi of Kenya was third.

Jepchirchir was the instigator of almost all the major moves in the race. At Mile 6, she pushed the pace to bring the lead pack down to about 10.

After nine miles, the pack was down to four, and soon after three: Jepchirchir, Joyciline Jepkosgei and Yeshaneh.

The three ran along together for much of the race but after two hours Jepchirchir prompted another move that left her alone with Yeshaneh.

The two ran stride for stride until a mile to go when Jepchirchir started a sprint. But the much less heralded Yeshaneh fought back to retake the lead. They continued to swap the lead in the last mile, leaving the winner in doubt until the last seconds.

With the finish line in sight, Jepchirchir finally pulled away to win by four seconds.

The race was celebrated as the 50th anniversary of women officially entering the race, although women had surreptitiously entered the race before, defying a ban on their gender.