Who won the Boston Marathon in 2026? Meet John Korir, Sharon Lokedi and other winners from every division originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Marathon has crowned its newest champions. Or, in this year's case, mostly repeat champions.
Legacies began to take shape this year with the men's and women's runners both going back-to-back for their second straight Boston Marathon win. This is also without mentioning the men's wheelchair division and Marcel Hug's ninth Boston Marathon win in 12 years.
Women's handcyclist Edie Perkins was the only one of these six winners to take home gold for the first time.
Here's everything to know about how these runners reached this moment of glory.
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John Korir is one of the top runners in the sport, clinching his second Boston Marathon win in a row. Korir also won the Chicago Marathon in 2024. With his course record-breaking finish in 2026, John Korir set the fifth-fastest running marathon time in history at 2:01:52.
This makes him the second Korir brother to win the Boston Marathon, following his brother Wesley's win in 2012.
The Korir brothers grew up in Kitale, a city in Western Kenya with a population of around 160,000. Wesley Korir founded the Kenyan Kids Foundation, a charity that looks to combat generational poverty in Kenya.
With a time of 2:01:52, John Korir is a back-to-back men's Boston Marathon champion 🏆 pic.twitter.com/CZP17D8dfH
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The lead was tight throughout most of the women's race, but Lokedi pulled ahead at the end, cementing a 44-second margin in her marathon win. Lokedi has dominated marathons for years, winning her very first, the New York City Marathon, in 2022.
While at Kansas, Lokedi competed in cross country and track and field. She was the Big 12 Women's Runner of the Year in 2016 and 2017. She still holds five school records at Kansas, including the 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
Lokedi grew up in Burnt Forest, Kenya, a small town in the western part of the country.
WHAT A PROUD MOMENT FOR KENYAMy heartfelt congratulations to Sharon Lokedi for not just winning the Boston Marathon, but doing it in record-breaking fashion. A powerful 2:17:22 finish, and a new course record to her name!Hellen Obiri, thank you for pushing the pace and making… pic.twitter.com/ALPhyMUt6L
— Hon. Justin Muturi, EGH (@HonJBMuturi) April 21, 2025
Hug has been dubbed "The Silver Bullet." If there was ever any question as to why, just look at the 6:38 margin of victory in Hug's ninth Boston Marathon win.
Alongside these marathon wins, Hug also has 16 Paralympic medals dating back to 2004. Among these are seven gold medals earned across Rio, Tokyo and Paris. He has also won 13 World Championship gold medals from 2006-2025.
Hug began wheelchair racing at 10 years old after being born with spina bifida, a condition that does not allow his spine to properly develop.
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