Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir Wins 2022 Boston Marathon Women's Race In Thrilling Finish
BOSTON (CBS) -- The 2022 Boston Marathon women's race came down to the wire, and featured a back-and-forth finish between Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir and Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh. Jepchirchir won a thrilling showdown in the final block to win her first Boston on Monday.
The two traded the lead six times over the final mile, with Jepchirchir pushing ahead on Boylston Street to win it with an official time of 2:21:01. Yeshaneh finished second at 2:21:05.
Jepchirchir and Yeshaneh were shoulder-to-shoulder at the 24-mile mark, and even shared some water at that point in the race. Yeshaneh began to pull away with just over a mile left to go, but Jepchirchir made a big move as the two hit Kenmore Square. The two went back and forth before Jepchirchi made a big move in the final stretch, and crossed the finish line just before Yeshaneh.
Jepchirchir, who made her Boston debut on Monday, said she knew she was going to win the race with 40 kilometers to go.
"I'm feeling great. I'm so happy for my dream race. My dream was to run Boston one time and I'm grateful for winning," she told WBZ-TV's David Wade.
"I'm still motivated. I can do more," she added.
Jepchirchir has been racking up the wins over the last year. She won the New York City Marathon last November with a 2:22:39 finish. She also won Olympic gold in 2021 with a first-place finish in Tokyo, the first person to win Olympic gold and the New York City Marathon in the same year.
Kenya's Mary Ngugi finished third in Boston on Monday with a 2:21:32 finish. Nell Rojas was the first American runner to cross the finish line, coming in 10th with a 2:25:57 finish.
