John Korir runs fastest Boston Marathon time in history to repeat

Kenyan John Korir ran the fastest time in the Boston Marathon's 130-year history to repeat as champion of the world's oldest annual 26.2-mile race.

Korir clocked an unofficial 2 hours, 1 minute, 52 seconds, to crush the course record of 2:03:02 set by fellow Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. Runners benefited from a tailwind in 2011 and again on Monday.

Korir took the lead outright in the 20th mile and extended it to win by 55 seconds over Alphonce Felix Simbu, the 2025 World champion from Tanzania. Simbu took runner-up by three seconds over 2021 Boston Marathon champ Benson Kipruto of Kenya.

In 2025, Korir fell at the start, his bib came off and he crossed the Boylston Street finish line holding the bib for his first major marathon victory. Last December, he won the Valencia Marathon in Spain in 2:02:24 to become the eighth-fastest marathoner in history.

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2026 Boston Marathon Results

Results from the 130th Boston Marathon on April 19, 2026.

• Nick Zaccardi,

The top American man and women going in — 2024 Olympic Trials winners Conner Mantz and Fiona O'Keeffe — both withdrew before the race.

Mantz, who ran an American record 2:04:43 at the Chicago Marathon last Oct. 12, pulled out March 31, saying "my fitness has not progressed well enough."

O'Keeffe, who last Nov. 2 ran the fastest New York City Marathon for an American woman (2:22:49 for fourth place overall), withdrew on Sunday due to a recent hamstring issue.

The next major marathon is the London Marathon next Sunday.

London features the strongest fields of the spring marathons, including the two fastest male marathoners of 2025 (Kenyan Sabastian Sawe and Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo) and the third-fastest female marathoner in history (Ethiopian Tigst Assefa).