What started as a hopeful title defense at the 2025 Boston Marathon turned into heartbreak for Sisay Lemma. The 34-year-old Ethiopian, who won last year’s race with a gutsy front-running performance, stepped off the course just after mile 17. Television coverage showed him pulling to the side and trying to stretch out his leg, but he never rejoined the pack, ending his day and his shot at back-to-back titles.

Lemma came into Boston 2025 as one of the clear favorites, carrying the fastest personal best in the men’s field—a blazing 2:01:48 from Valencia in 2023. He started strong, pushing the pace early with a brutal 4:32 mile on the downhill stretch near mile 16. But the effort caught up to him fast. After a slower 5:01 mile allowed the pack to tighten, Lemma began to fade, and signs of discomfort soon followed. Despite a brief attempt to stretch and reset, he ultimately left the race.

With Lemma out of the picture, the race completely opened up. Clayton Young and Conner Mantz from the U.S., along with Patrick Tiernan from Australia, started to make their move, taking the lead in a pack of about 15 runners with nine miles left. Even if Lemma had kept going, it would’ve been almost impossible for him to get back in the game.

Now, with about a dozen runners still in contention, they pushed through the Newton Hills, with Young and Mantz continuing to set the pace. They crossed the 30K mark in 1:28:39, showing they weren’t slowing down anytime soon, at least not in the Boston Marathon. Despite Lemma’s early exit, there were still some heavy hitters in the mix.

Two-time winner Evans Chebet was hanging in there, and John Korir, brother of 2012 champion Wesley Korir, was still fighting for a spot despite losing his bib in a fall right at the start. As they headed toward the infamous Heartbreak Hill, things were still pretty quiet, with no one making a major move yet. The question now is who would break out and claim the win in the final stretch of the Boston Marathon?

With the defending champion out, the field opens for Korir’s dominant Boston Marathon victory

But what happened next? As defending champion Sisay Lemma dropped out of the race, the field was wide open, and John Korir took full advantage. The younger brother of 2012 Boston Marathon champion Wesley Korir, John, surged ahead with a blistering 4:24 split for his 22nd mile, opening up a huge gap as he entered Brookline.

Despite losing his bib in the chaotic start, Korir remained undeterred and was now just three miles away from a dominant victory. His relentless pace left the rest of the field trailing behind, with American Conner Mantz and three other men chasing but struggling to close a 47-second gap. As the race wore on, Korir’s lead continued to grow, and by the time he crossed the finish line in 2:04:45, he had sealed the third-fastest time in Boston Marathon history.

With a performance that will go down as one of the most memorable in recent history, Korir followed in his older brother’s footsteps to capture the Boston Marathon title, destroying the competition and solidifying his place as one of the greats in marathon running