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Kenya’s John Korir wins Boston Marathon in 2nd-fastest time (0:53)

John Korir masters the 26.2 miles in an unofficial 2 hours, 4 minutes, 44 seconds, joining his brother as a Boston Marathon champion. (0:53)

Apr 21, 2025, 12:11 PM ET

BOSTON — John Korir of Kenya joined his brother as a Boston Marathon champion on Monday.

Six months after winning Chicago, Korir mastered the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston’s Copley Square in an unofficial 2 hours, 4 minutes, 44 seconds — the second-fastest winning time in race history.

Kenya’s John Korir won the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 44 seconds — the second-fastest winning time in race history. Wesley Korir, his brother, won the prestigious race in 2012. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

After crossing the line, he was greeted by his older brother, 2012 Boston winner Wesley Korir. Although the race has been won by a pair of unrelated John Kelleys and two different Robert Cheruiyots, the Korirs are the first brothers — or relatives of any kind — to win the world’s oldest and most prestigious annual marathon.

Korir tumbled near the starting line but recovered quickly from the fall and pulled away at the 20-mile mark, building a minute cushion between himself and the rest of the field with two miles to go.

Conner Mantz of Provo, Utah, finished fourth after losing a three-way sprint to the finish with Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania and Cybrian Kotut of Kenya. Simbu was second and Kotut was third.

Korir ran without his bib showing, pulling it out of his running tights as he sprinted down Boylston Street.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.