Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri were victorious at the Boston Marathon, winning the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in 2:06:17 and 2:22:37 respectively.

For Sisay Lemma, it was a race of redemption, following two previous outings in the US city that ended in disappointment. His winning time is the fourth fastest in Boston history.

Obiri, meanwhile, successfully defended her title, notching up her third victory in a row in a World Marathon Majors race and leading a Kenyan sweep of the podium.

The two races played out in contrasting fashion; Lemma made an early break in the men’s race and built up a huge lead, eventually winning by 41 seconds. Conversely, in the women’s contest, the real racing began only in the final few miles with Obiri eventually finishing just eight seconds ahead of fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi.

By the time Lemma reached 20 miles (1:33:48), he had increased his lead to two minutes and 49 seconds and was still just about on schedule to break Geoffrey Mutai’s course record of 2:03:02 from 2011. But he had some of the toughest parts of the course to contend with.

He slogged his way up Heartbreak Hill in 5:28 but his lead was starting to reduce as Chebet, John Korir, Albert Korir and Mohamed Esa ran together up the steepest section of the race.

From that point onwards, the chasers continued to reduce Lemma’s leading margin. With two miles to go, though, Lemma still had a 90-second cushion over Chebet and John Korir, who were running side by side, both looking set to claim the other podium places.

Despite his pace continuing to slip, Lemma’s lead proved too much for his opponents and he went on to cross the line in 2:06:17. There was some excitement further back, though, as the strong-finishing Esa went from fifth at 23 miles to second by the finish line, claiming the runner-up spot in 2:06:58.

Chebet, the defending champion, this time finished third in 2:07:22 – his fourth consecutive podium finish in a marathon major.

“The reason I raced in Boston is because the course is similar to the Olympic one, so hopefully this will be good preparation for the Paris Games.”

A Jamaican teenager has made history by breaking Usian Bolt’s world record in the Under-17 400m event.

Nickecoy Bramwell has shattered the eight-time Olympic gold medallist’s time by 0.07 seconds. “I just took my mind off it and focused on the record.”

Bramwell, who is still a student at Calabar High in Kingston, looks set to follow in the steps of greatness after breaking one of Bolt’s records. The world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt is taking part in Soccer Aid and has revealed Marcus Rashford could beat him in a 20-yard sprint.

In addition to Bolt’s Olympic medals, he holds 11 World Championship titles and remains a world-record holder in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay. Bolt is widely considered the greatest sprinter of all-time and the 400m distance was never his true speciality beyond youth level.

The 37-year-old, who retired in 2017, now spends most of his time with family and often appears in charitable events such as Soccer Aid.  He is also keen to help develop the next generation of athletes. Speaking last year, Bolt said: “I spend my time doing a lot of family things, when it comes to track and field, not as much as I would want to but I still try and stay in touch with what is going on.

Bolt added: “After me, it kind of went down because of who I was as a person, and how big my personality was.

Not only did Bramwell break Bolt’s record, but he dismantled his opposition in the process. Bramwell won the 400m race by 0.7 seconds, while also finishing in front of third place by 0.9 seconds.

If Bramwell’s career turns out to be anything like Bolt’s, then the world of athletics could be in for a treat.

Ruti Aga chopped 48 seconds off the course record at the Daegu Marathon, winning the World Athletics Gold Label road race in 2:21:08. Kenya’s Stephen Kiprop, meanwhile, won the men’s race by a comfortable 36-second margin in 2:07:04.

In the women’s race, the lead pack passed through 10km in 33:23 but by 20km, reached in 1:06:17, the front group had been reduced to just three women: Aga, Kenya’s Evaline Chirchir, and Bahrain’s Tigist Belay. Angela Tanui – the fastest woman in the field – had dropped behind by about nine seconds by this point.

The same lead trio passed through the half-way point in 1:10:00, then Aga started to make a break a few kilometres later. By 30km, which Aga passed in 1:38:50, she had a 31-second lead over Chirchir. Tanui, meanwhile, had moved up into third, 12 seconds behind her compatriot.

Aga reached 35km in 1:55:28, which suggested a finishing time comfortably inside 2:20. But the Ethiopian – who was contesting her second marathon of the year, having equalled her PB of 2:18:09 in January – then started to tire in the final few kilometres.

Tanui, meanwhile, was going from strength to strength and started to catch glimpses of the Ethiopian on the longer stretches. Fortunately for the tiring Aga, the lead she had built up earlier in the race provided enough of a cushion for her to maintain the lead as she entered the Daegu Stadium – venue of the 2011 World Championships – and crossed the finish line in 2:21:08, breaking the course record of 2:21:56 that had been set by Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu in 2022.

Tanui finished second in 2:21:32, then Chirchir followed 40 seconds later. Australia’s Commonwealth champion Jessica Stenson came through for fourth place in a PB of 2:24:01.