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Women’s field for 2026 Boston Marathon to feature defending champions, slew of American stars
The 2026 Boston Marathon will feature perhaps the strongest group of American women in the race’s history.
Only one American woman has managed to win the open division at the Boston Marathon in the last four decades, when Des Linden outlasted the field in monsoon conditions to claim victory on Boylston Street in 2018.
If there was ever a chance for another American woman to break the tape first in Boston, this might be the year.
The 2026 Boston Marathon will feature perhaps the strongest group of American women in the race’s history, with 13 boasting personal bests faster than 2 hours, 26 minutes.
“The strength of the American field, combined with the international field’s experience, is setting the stage for a clash that could result in records and sprint finishes on Boylston Street,” said Mary Kate Shea, the BAA’s chief operating officer, in a release. “The best of the best have circled the Boston Marathon on their calendar.”
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That group includes the entire 2024 US Olympic marathon team, trials winner Fiona O’Keeffe, Boston veteran Dakota Popehn, and American record-holder Emily Sisson.
O’Keeffe (fourth at the 2025 New York City Marathon) and Popehn (seventh in Chicago in October) are coming off strong fall showings, while Sisson — the American record-holder over 26.2 miles — returned from a quiet year following the 2024 Olympics to finish three places behind O’Keeffe in New York.
Sisson, a two-time national champion on the track at Providence College, is making her Boston Marathon debut after years of success on the major marathon circuit, including her American record-breaking run (2:18:29) in Chicago in 2022.
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“The Boston Marathon has been a race I’ve looked forward to competing in for many years,” said Sisson, who lives in Ireland. “I’m ready to take on the challenging course and be part of one of the legendary races in our sport.”
The Marathon also will feature the woman from whom Sisson took that American record, Keira D’Amato, as well as last year’s top American, Jess McClain.
Other notable Americans include the fifth-fastest American woman in history, Sara Hall; last year’s second-place American, Annie Frisbie; and Susanna Sullivan and Erika Kemp, who joined McClain on the American team for last year’s world championships in Tokyo.
They’ll all be looking to snatch the crown from Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi, who will return to defend her title after dethroning two-time winner Hellen Obiri in a course-record time of 2:17:22.
Lokedi is one of a trio of women carrying personal bests faster than 2:18 into Boston, alongside fellow Kenyan Irine Cheptai (2:17:51) and Ethiopia’s Workenesh Edesa (2:17:55).
Last year’s women’s wheelchair race was the strongest in history, with four Boston champions — Americans Susannah Scaroni and Tatyana McFadden, Switzerland’s Manuela Schär, and Great Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper boast 12 wins between them — lining up alongside perhaps the most decorated wheelchair racer in history, Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner.
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All five are back for 2026, with five-time champion Wakako Tsuchida of Japan (who won every title from 2007-11) joining the mix.
Scaroni put away that elite field last spring for her second title, the start of a dominant 2025 that also included wins in Chicago, New York, and Sydney.
“Winning the Boston Marathon on the 50th anniversary of the wheelchair division in 2025 was significant and set the ball rolling for a strong season,” said Scaroni. “Boston is always a race I look forward to and will bring out the best on Marathon Monday.”
The Marathon will take place on April 20.
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