Boston 5K winners

Ethiopia swept the Boston 5K on April 18, with Addisu Yihune and Gela Hambese winning the races that open Boston Marathon weekend. (baa.org) Yihune, 23, broke away late and finished in 13:14, setting a men’s event record and lowering Ben True’s 2017 mark of 13:20. Hambese won the women’s race in 15:28. (baa.org) World Athletics listed Mezgebu Sime second in 13:21 and Edwin Kurgat third in 13:23 behind Yihune. Rachel Schneider Smith and Katie Izzo followed Hambese in the women’s race, both timed in 15:33. (worldathletics.org, watchathletics.com) The Boston 5K is one of the first elite races of the weekend, two days before the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20, 2026. The course starts near Copley Square and finishes at the same Boylston Street line used for the marathon. (baa.org) This year’s race was the 24th annual Boston 5K, according to the Boston Athletic Association, even as Race Results Weekly described the elite competition as its 16th edition. The event carried World Athletics road-race status and offered a fast, high-profile stage before the marathon fields arrive. (baa.org, runningusa.org, worldathletics.org) Yihune added a $5,000 event-record bonus to the $8,000 winner’s prize, according to race organizers’ recap. The Boston Athletic Association said both champions earned $8,000 for first place. (rrm.com) Race Results Weekly said the morning in Back Bay was chilly and foggy, and Yihune used his move in the final kilometer to decide the men’s race. LetsRun reported he separated in the final mile after arriving in Boston with a 12:49 track best for 5,000 meters. (sports.yahoo.com, letsrun.com) The result gives Boston race week its first elite winners before the marathon’s larger spotlight shifts to Hopkinton and Boylston Street on Monday. Saturday’s 5K put Yihune and Hambese at the front of the weekend’s early storylines. (sports.yahoo.com, baa.org)