Hellen Obiri is set to defend her Boston Marathon title on April 15, competing against what organizers claim is the strongest elite women’s field in the race’s history.
The competition features 19 athletes with personal bests under 2:23:00, including Olympians, World Marathon Majors winners, and national stars.
Obiri, a two-time Olympic 5000m silver medalist now residing in Colorado, USA, clinched victory in the 2023 edition with a perfectly-timed sprint in the final kilometer. She is also the reigning New York City Marathon champion and has been named in Kenya’s marathon team for the Paris Olympics.
Expressing her excitement, Obiri, who finished last year’s race in 2:21:38, stated, “I am excited to return to the 2024 Boston Marathon to try to defend my title. Boston is an historic race, and I would like to add my name further to its history on April 15. Winning such a historic marathon with my family waiting at the finish line was an amazing experience.”
A trio of Ethiopians with lifetime bests under 2:18:00 will challenge the Boston course. Worknesh Degefa, the 2019 Boston Marathon champion, returns alongside 2:17:36 marathoner Tadu Teshome making her Boston debut, and Hiwot Gebremaryam aiming to improve on her eighth-place finish from the previous year.
World championships medallist Senbere Teferi, winner of the 2022 B.A.A. 5K in a course record of 14:49, is also part of the competitive lineup. Ababel Yeshaneh, the experienced marathoner and second-place finisher in 2022, will strive to become the seventh Ethiopian woman to win the Boston Marathon.
Joining Obiri from Kenya are 2022 World Athletics Championships Marathon silver medalist Judith Korir, two-time Boston Marathon winner Edna Kiplagat, four-time top-ten finisher Mary Ngugi-Cooper, and 2022 New York City Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi. Helah Kiprop, holding a silver medal in the marathon from the 2015 World Athletics Championships, makes her second career Boston start, while from Morocco, 2023 world marathon bronze medalist Fatima Gardadi will compete.
The American contingent is led by Desiree Linden, who returns six years after winning the title. Linden, a top-five finisher multiple times, holds the third-fastest time by an American on the Hopkinton-to-Boston route (2:22:38). She will be joined by Emma Bates, who finished fifth last year in the second-fastest time ever by an American woman at Boston (2:22:10).
Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the Boston Athletic Association, expressed pride in showcasing the world’s best athletes and anticipated an exciting race from Hopkinton to Boston, looking forward to crowning the champions on April 15.
