Can Evans Chebet beat Eliud Kipchoge and defend his Boston Marathon title?

On April 17, the world will watch great marathoners compete in the 127th edition of the Boston Marathon which will cover 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston.

More than 30,000 athletes are expected to take to the course.

The Boston Marathon has seen practically everything since its inauguration in 189. From legendary moments to the admission of women in the race, and much more.

The world’s oldest annual marathon has seen fierce long-distance runners compete for top honours in the last 126 editions. This year, the organizers will have the rare privilege of having record holder Eliud Kipchoge grace it.

Eliud Kipchoge makes Boston debut

Kipchoge has accomplished more than anyone since his debut in 2013.

Back then, the unofficial title of World’s Greatest Marathoner was never retained by anyone for very long.

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It was first held by Geoffrey Mutai who earned it by winning the Boston and New York marathon in 2011 before winning Berlin in 2012 and New York in 2013.

He ran three more marathons before his retirement at 34 but never finished higher than 5th.

He was succeeded by Wilson Kipsang whose reign was brief. Kipsang earned the belt by winning Berlin in 2013, followed by London and New York in 2014 before Kipchoge took over.

Kipchoge won in Rotterdam and Chicago in 2014 before beating Kipsang in London in 2015 to seize the crown.

The two-time marathon champion kept winning and was unbeaten for more than seven years before losing a marathon in London in 2020.

He however bounced back to winning ways to claim four more victories, including an Olympic title in 2021 and a world record in 2022.

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Since the inception of the World Marathon Majors in 2006, Kipchoge has won 12 victories (10 on the regular circuit plus two Olympics).

No other man has even half of that. Kipchoge has however never tested himself on the Boston unique course.

While Kipchoge is showing no signs of slowing down soon, it appears that we are far closer to the end of his career than the beginning.

Who knows how many more chances there will be to witness him in all of his glory?

Evans Chebet hoping to defend title

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Chebet is now 34. What makes him even more of a threat is his experience of Boston.

He is the reigning champion after beating Lawrence Cherono in last year’s set-piece to clock 2:06:51.

Chebet also won the New York City Marathon in 2022 (2:08:41), and his accomplishments also include, victories at Valencia (2020), Lake Biwa (2020), Buenos Aires (2019), and a fourth-place showing in London in his lone 2021 event.

If you will be anywhere near the marathon route on Monday, you owe it to yourself to take a few minutes out of your day to catch a glimpse of Kipchoge in person.