American women out in force in Boston

There will be a high-class American presence in the women’s field at the Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America.

The full US marathon squads from the recent Olympics and World Championships make up 13 American athletes who have run all run under 2:26.

The entire 2024 US Olympic Marathon team will be flying the flag in their home race on Monday April 20, including Emily Sisson, Fiona O’Keeffe and Dakotah Popehn.

Sisson is the national record holder in the marathon (2:18:29), and O’Keeffe is coming off a fourth place showing at the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon in November. Popehn set a lifetime best of 2:24:21 in finishing seventh at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last October.

Also taking part will be the entire American squad from last year’s World Championships Marathon in Tokyo: Susanna Sullivan, Jess McClain and Erika Kemp.

Sullivan placed fourth at Worlds, McClain was the top American at Boston last year, finishing seventh in 2:22:43, while Kemp has a lifetime best of 2:22:56.

One spot behind McClain in Boston last April was Annie Frisbie (2:23:21) who also delivered a stellar fifth-place in New York in November.

No American woman has won the open division since Des Linden in 2018.

Looking to continue the international trend of winners are Kenyans Sharon Lokedi, Irine Cheptai and Vivian Cheruiyot, as well as Ethiopians Workenesh Edesa and Bedatu Hirpa.

Lokedi is coming off a course record 2:17:22 last year in Boston, while Cheptai placed fourth in 2:21:32. Cheruiyot finished fifth place in London last year, having transitioned to the marathon after winning four Olympic medals on the track. Edesa won the Sydney Marathon in 2024 and both Osaka and Hamburg in 2025, while Hirpa was the Paris and Dubai Marathon winner last year.

Experience is key in Boston and that’s just what Great Britain’s Calli Hauger-Thackery and Kenya’s Mary Ngugi-Cooper have. Hauger-Thackery had a career year in 2025 that saw a sixth place, 2:22:38 finish in Boston and a win at the Honolulu Marathon in December, followed by victory in Houston this month. Ngugi-Cooper has placed in the top-ten five times in Boston, and last fall ran a personal best 2:19:25 in Chicago.

The women’s wheelchair division is led by defending champion Susannah Scaroni. The American star is carrying momentum into 2026 having won Boston, Chicago, New York and Sydney last year. She also finished first at Boston in 2023.

Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner and Manuela Schär were closest to Scaroni in second and third last Patriots’ Day. Debrunner is looking for her first Boston title while Schär owns the course record (1:28:17) and tallied four Boston wins between 2017 and 2022.

“Being a Boston Marathon champion and course record holder is among the highlights of my career,” said Schär. “Embracing the hard course and pushing your limits is part of what makes this race different from others on the world circuit.”

American Tatyana McFadden has won Boston five times, Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper took gold in 2024 winner while Japan’s Wakako Tsuchida, who won five times in succession from 2007, add to the elite cast.