The winners in the 2024 Boston Marathon

Sisay Lemma, of Ethiopia, set a blistering pace and held on to win the Boston Marathon on Monday, running alone through most of the course to finish in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 17 seconds — the 10th fastest time in the race's 128-year history.

Lemma arrived in Boston with the fastest time in the field, becoming just the fourth person ever to break 2 hours, 2 minutes when he won in Valencia last year. And the 2021 London champion showed it on the course, separating himself from the pack in Ashland and opening a lead of more than half of a mile.

Lemma ran the first half in one hour and 19 minutes — 99 seconds faster than Geoffrey Mutai's course record pace in 2011, when he finished in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 2 seconds — the fastest marathon in history to that point.

Lemma dropped to the pavement and rolled onto his back, smiling, after crossing the finish line.

“I decided that I wanted to start fast early,” said Lemma, whose victory in London in 2021 was his only other major marathon victory. “I kept the pace and I won.”

Fellow Ethiopian Mohamed Esa closed the gap through the last few miles, finishing second by 41 seconds; two-time defending champion Evans Chebet was third.

Hellen Obiri defended her title in the women's race, outsprinting fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi down Boylston Street to win by eight seconds. Obiri is the first woman to win back-to-back Boston marathons since 2005. She finished Monday in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 37 seconds.

“Defending the title was not easy. Since Boston started, it’s only six women. So I said, ’Can I be one of them?' If you want to be one of them, you have to work extra hard,” she said. “And I’m so happy because I’m now one of them. I’m now in the history books in Boston.”

The 34-year-old Obiri split from more than a dozen runners in the second half of the race, then outfought a challenge from Kenyan Sharon Lodeki over the final three miles for the victory. It led a Kenyan sweep of the podium, with Lodeki crossing second in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 45 seconds. Two-time champion and 44-year-old Edna Kiplagat was third in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 21 seconds. Kiplagat finished 30th a year ago.

Marcel Hug of Switzerland overcame a crash and captured his seventh men’s wheelchair Boston Marathon title, setting in a new course record Monday of 1 hour, 15 minutes, 33 seconds.

It bests his previous course mark of 1 hour, 17 minutes and 6 seconds set last year and was just seven seconds from setting a new world record. It continues his streak of 11 consecutive major marathon titles.

American Daniel Romanchuk was second, with a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes and 37 seconds, followed by Britain’s David Weir, finishing in 1 hour, 22 minutes and 12 seconds. The 38-year-old Hug took advantage of temperatures in the mid-50s at the start of the race and was more than 30 seconds ahead of his fellow competitors by the halfway mark.

In the women’s race, Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper won her first Boston crown, crossing in 1 hour, 35 minutes and 11 seconds. She was followed by Switzerland’s Manuela Schar in 1 hour, 36 minutes and 41 seconds and Australia's Madison de Rozario, with a time of 1 hour, 39 minutes and 20 seconds.

It was Rainbow-Cooper's first major win. The 22-year-old was seventh in Boston a year ago. Her previous top finishes in a major was second in Tokyo this year and second in Berlin in 2023.

Hug was cruising until he crashed while making the turn at the start of the Newton Hills section of the course, skidding and hitting a barrier at about the 18-mile mark. But he quickly recovered and maintained a nearly four-minute lead over the field.

“It was my fault,” Hug said. “I had too much weight, too much pressure from above to my steering, so I couldn’t steer.”

Hug and Rainbow-Cooper received $40,000 for the win and a bonus of $50,000 for setting the record. The Paris Paralympic marathon favorite, Hug will represent Switzerland in France this summer.