Evans Chebet Of Kenya Pulls Away Late To Claim First Boston Marathon Victory
BOSTON (CBS) -- Evans Chebet pulled away late and took home his first Boston Marathon win on Monday. The Kenyan won the 126th running of the race with an official time of 2:06:51.
The 2022 men's race featured a huge cluster in the lead for much of the race, but that began to break up around the 21-mile mark. That's when Chebet and Gabriel Geay of Tanzania pulled apart from the pack, before Chebet pulled away from everyone.
There was no catching the 33-year-old after that, though former Boston champs Laurence Cherono and Benson Kipruto gave chase over the final two miles, when Chebet owned an 18-second advantage. They could only chip a few seconds off his lead, and Chebet cruised in to break the tape for his first Boston victory. It's the first Abbot World Marathon major victory of Chebet's racing career.
Cherono finished second with a 2:07:21 finish, while Kipruto finished third at 2:07:27. Geay finished fourth at 2:07:53, while Scott Fauble was the first American to cross the finish line, placing seventh with a finish time of 2:08:50.
Chebet last ran Boston in 2018, but did not finish the race due to the rainy conditions. His best marathon finish came in the 2020 Valencia Trinidad Alfonso Marathon, when he won with a time of 2:03:00.
Through a translator, Chebet told WBZ-TV's Steve Burton that he would run Boston again.
He said that he was grateful to have a second chance on Monday, which Chebet called an "amazing day."
