Hellen Obiri defends Boston Marathon title as she leads Kenya's podium sweep

Marathoner Hellen Obiri on Monday defended her Boston Marathon title in a time of 2:22:37.

Obiri, 34, becomes the first woman to win back-to-back Boston Marathons since 2005.

Sharon Lokedi came second in 2:22:45 followed by Edna Kiplagat in third place who clocked 2:23:21.

The men's race was won by Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia in a time of 2:06:17 while Kenya's Evans Chebet finished third.

Obiri attributed her success to the hard training that she did prior to the race.

"Last year I was not familiar to marathon but this year my training was perfect. We trusted everything we were doing and even the speed," she said in her post-race interview.

"We said that I was ready than last year, of course I meant that we were going to win which is very precious to me," Obiri added.

The runner admitted that the race was tough as she was up against a field of strong contenders in the race that attracted nearly 30,000 runners.

The win makes her the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country.

Obiri is a two-time Olympic 5,000 metres silver medallist from the 2016 Rio games and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also placed fourth over the 10,000 metres.

She is also a two-time 5,000m world champion after winning in 2017 and 2019, when she set a new championship record.

Obiri also won the 3,000 metres race at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, claimed silver in 2014, and placed fourth in 2018.

She is also the 2019 World Cross Country champion.