Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia won the Boston Marathon on Monday, running most of the course alone and finishing in 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 17 seconds, which is the 10th fastest time in the race’s 128-year history. Hellen Obiri of Kenya defended her title in the women’s race, outsprinting her fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi to win by eight seconds. Obiri is the first woman to win back-to-back Boston Marathons since 2005.
Lemma — who had the fastest time in the field and, last year, became only the fourth person ever to break 2:02:00 — set a blistering pace in the first half. He ran the first 13.1 miles in 60:19, which was 99 seconds faster than the course record pace set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. Although Ethiopian Mohamed Esa closed the gap in the last few miles, Lemma held on to win by 41 seconds, with two-time defending champion Evans Chebet finishing third.
In the women’s race, Obiri broke away from a large lead pack of 15 runners in Brookline and maintained her lead to the finish line. Lokedi finished second, and two-time Boston winner Edna Kiplagat came in third.
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race for the seventh time, setting a new course record despite crashing into a barrier during the race. Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper, 22, won the women’s wheelchair race, becoming the third-youngest woman to win the Boston wheelchair race.
The Boston Marathon began in Hopkinton 100 years ago, and nearly 30,000 runners participated in the centennial event Monday. The weather was sunny and warm, rising into the 60s. The race also fell on One Boston Day, which commemorates the victims of the 2013 marathon bombings. Gov. Maura Healey, Mayor Michelle Wu, and members of the victims’ families laid wreaths at the sites of the explosions near the finish line on Boylston Street.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.