Boston Marathon – News – World Record Holder, World Champion, Six Boston Winners to Square Off at Boston Marathon

World Record Holder, World Champion, Six Boston Winners to Square Off at 127th Boston Marathon 

BOSTON—The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) proudly announced today that marathon world record holder and double Olympic marathon gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge, as well as reigning World Athletics Marathon champion Gotytom Gebreslase, will each make their Boston Marathon debuts in April, joining six distinguished Boston Marathon champions on the starting line of the 127th Boston Marathon. Among the Boston Marathon champions set to race are reigning winner Evans Chebet of Kenya and Des Linden, the most recent American open division champion.

The 127th Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 17, 2023 – Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts—and will feature 30,000 participants.

“The B.A.A. is bringing the world’s best to Boston to compete on the renowned 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston,” said Mary Kate Shea, B.A.A. Director of Professional Athletes & Technical Support. “World record holder and Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge, World Champion Gotytom Gebreslase and six Boston Marathon winners will challenge themselves, each other and a deep field of accomplished athletes on our sport’s famed stage.”

Defending Boston Marathon champion Chebet, 2021 winner Benson Kipruto, and two-time victor Lelisa Desisa (2013 and 2015) will be part of an historically deep men’s open division. Among the returning champions in the women’s field are Linden (2018), Edna Kiplagat (2017) and Atsede Baysa (2016). 

As the fastest marathoner in history, Kipchoge will take on the challenging Boston Marathon course with hopes of earning his eleventh win at an Abbott World Marathon Majors event. Kipchoge’s last marathon resulted in a new world record when he timed 2:01:09 for the win at September’s Berlin Marathon. Kipchoge’s lifetime best is 1:59:40, run at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge exhibition event in 2019 where he became the first man ever to cover 26.2 miles in under two hours. The 38-year-old looks to become the only man in history to have established a marathon world record, won two Olympic marathon gold medals, and break the tape first in Boston over the span of their career.

“I am happy to announce in April I will compete in the Boston Marathon, a new chapter in my Abbott World Marathon Majors journey,” said Kipchoge. “Good luck to all the runners running Boston in 2023.”

Joining…