Table of Contents
- Sharon Lokedi won the 2025 Boston Marathon champion
- She clocked 2:17:19 to win her major marathon
- Lokedi said that settling for a second position in the race wasn’t an option in her mind
Kenyan athlete Sharon Lokedi is the 2025 Boston Marathon champion.
She clocked 2:17:19 to win her second title of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Lokedi won the New York Marathon in 2022.
Her determination saw her cross the finishing line first ahead of fellow Kenyan athlete, Hellen Obiri, on Monday afternoon.
Obiri won the 2024 Boston Marathon and she put on a brave show in Boston in the hope of defending her victory.
Ethiopian marathoner Yalemzerf Yehualaw finished third.
How Sharon Lokedi Won Boston Marathon
The thought of Obiri winning the 2025 Boston Marathon pushed her to do more than she thought she could.
Lokedi said that settling for a second position in the race wasn’t an option in her mind. Her mind and body were fixed on the ultimate prize: winning the marathon at all costs.
Sharon Lokedi credits her desire to win to Obiri, who set a stunning record last year. She felt that she had come in second to Obiri a little more than once, and she needed to set a new record for herself.
“I am always like second to her but today I was like ‘no way, I have to put it out there’. I was determined to the fight to the end and see how it goes,” she said, according to Capital FM Sports.
Sharon Lokedi at a past New York Marathon. Photo/AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)
Although she beat the 2023 Boston Marathon champion, she felt the pressure as she finished 19 seconds behind her. Obiri clocked 2:17:41 to clinch a second position in this year’s marathon.
Yehualaw finished third, posting 2:18:06. She lost her momentum to the two Kenyans in the last quarter of the race.
Lokedi’s finishing time of 2:17:20 was a major improvement for her. She improved by five minutes compared to last year, where she clocked 2:22:45 and finished behind Obiri, who won the Boston Marathon in 2023.
Lokedi Vs Obiri Rivalry
Sharon Lokedi and Obiri’s athletic rivalry goes back a while. They tried it out at the Paris Olympics, but Lokedi missed the podium while Obiri made it and won a bronze medal.
The 2025 Boston Marathon champion clocked 2:23:14 to finish fourth in the Olympics. They have fiercely competed in the New York Half Marathon since 2022.
Lokedi won her debut 42km 2022 New York Marathon by clocking 2:23:23. Obiri then won the subsequent New York Marathon in 2023 but failed to defend her victory in the 2024 marathon.
She finished second while Sharon Lokedi managed a distant ninth finish at the 2024 New York Marathon.
Victory in Boston
Kenyan athlete Sharon Lokedi won the 2025 Boston Marathon. She finished 19 seconds ahead of her rival Hellen Obiri who finished second in the race. Photo/ABC13
Lokedi confessed that she never thought that she could win the 2025 Boston Marathon. A five-minute improvement this year felt like a big miracle.
She told journalists in a post-race conference that her body ran too fast, and there was a thought that she needed to slow down.
Her mind was on conserving all her energy for a strong finish, but the other side of her determination urged her to keep moving at a high speed.
She remembered that every champion wins a marathon because ‘they give it their best try’ of their life.
Her most humbling moment of the 2025 Boston Marathon was running into her mother’s arms beyond the finishing line after cutting the tape.
She opened up about how much her mother inspired her to train harder and remain focused during the marathon. Winning the race made her a proud mother.
