Olympic champion and world record-holder takes on defending champion Evans Chebet on April 17 while world champion Gotytom Gebreslase heads strong women’s field

It is almost 10 years to the day since Eliud Kipchoge won his debut marathon in Hamburg in 2:05:30. Since then he has won in Berlin and London four times, claimed two Olympic titles, improved the world record to 2:01:09 and dipped inside the “impossible” two-hour barrier in Vienna. Yet he has never contested the Boston Marathon and aims to add victory there to his great list of accomplishments next Monday (April 17).

Aged 38, he is still going strong and indeed his last venture over 26.2 miles saw him set the current world record in Berlin last September. During his amazing career he has also enjoyed marathon victories in Tokyo and Chicago which means that the only races on the World Marathon Majors series that he has not won are Boston and New York City.

Boston has immense history with the 2023 race being the 127th edition. It also has a notoriously tough course with rolling inclines as the runners enter the latter stages including the infamous Heartbreak Hill.

Kipchoge’s rivals include fellow Kenyan Evans Chebet, who won last year’s Boston Marathon in 2:06:51 before taking victory in New York City in November. The 34-year-old has also run 2:03:00 when winning in Valencia in 2020.

There is also the 2021 Boston and 2022 Chicago winner Benson Kipruto of Kenya and two-time winner Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, who triumphed in Boston in 2013 and 2015 and also finished runner-up in 2016 and 2019.

Behind Kipchoge and Chebet, the fastest man in the line-up is Tanzanian record-holder Gabriel Geay, who finished runner-up at the Valencia Marathon in December in 2:03:00.

Added to this are 2021 New York winner Albert Korir of Kenya, 2015 world champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie of Eritrea, 2020 London winner Shura Kitata of Ethiopia and Ethiopia’s Herpasa Negasa, a 2:03:40 man.

Last year’s seventh-place finisher and top American, Scott Fauble, returns for his fourth Boston Marathon and will be joined by world 50km record-breaker CJ Albertson. After a 2:08:16 marathon debut in Chicago last year, Conner Mantz will take on the Boston course for the first time.

Gotytom Gebreslase leads the women’s line-up that includes several former winners too.

The 28-year-old from Ethiopia won the Berlin Marathon in 2021 and then took the world title in Eugene last year in a championship record of 2:18:11. In the New York City Marathon in November she placed third behind Sharon Lokedi of Kenya and Lonah Salpeter of Israel but is hoping to return to winning ways in Boston.

Lokedi was due to run in Boston but has recently withdrawn, but Salpeter is still set to race and the 34-year-old ran 2:17:45 to win in Tokyo in 2020 and earned bronze at the World Championships last year.

All eyes in Boston will also be on Amane Beriso as the Ethiopian improved her best by six minutes to clock 2:14:58 to win the Valencia Marathon in December. It was the third quickest time in history and the 31-year-old felt she could have threatened Brigid Kosgei’s world record of 2:14:04 if the pacemakers had helped her in the latter stages instead of staying with the struggling Letesenbet Gidey.

Hellen Obiri is another star attraction in Boston. The 2019 world cross-country and two-time world 5000m champion from Kenya was not planning to run another marathon so soon after her slightly painful sixth place at New York City in November but after winning the NYC Half in style last month she has recently decided to run Boston.

Also in the line-up are former Boston winners Des Linden of the United States, who overcame dreadful weather conditions to win the 2018 event, together with 2017 winner Edna Kiplagat of Kenya and 2016 champion Atsede Baysa of Ethiopia.

Adding to the quality are last year’s second and third place finishers in Boston, Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia and Mary Ngugi of Kenya. Yeshaneh came within four seconds of victory in 2022, while Ngugi has placed second and third in Boston. Also returning is Joyciline Jepkosgei, a past winner of the New York City and London marathons, while Ethiopia’s Hiwot Gebremaryam, runner-up in Berlin in 2021, is another Boston debutante.

Leading the US challenge in the women’s race are Sara Hall, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Emma Bates and Nell Rojas.

In the wheelchair races American Daniel Romanchuk defends his men’s title but faces, among others, Swiss ‘silver bullet’ Marcel Hug. The women’s race sees four-time Boston champion Manuela Schär of Switzerland. Schär taking on World Marathon Majors Series champion Susannah Scaroni of the United States, Paralympic gold medallist Madison de Rozario of Australia and five-time Boston winner Tatyana McFadden of the United States.

For viewers in the UK the event is due to be broadcast on Eurosport 2 from 3.30pm on April 17.