ETHIOPIANS YIHUNEN, HAMBEZE TAKE BOSTON 5-K WINNERS
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission.
BOSTON (April 18) — A cold and foggy morning here in Back Bay, Ethiopians Adisu Yihune and: Twelve rooms won the 16th edition Boston 5-K presented by Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute. Yihune, 23, who represents adidasused a powerful burst of speed in the final kilometer to win in a course and event record 13:14. Hambeze, who is also 23 years old and also presents adidasrepeated as race champion, albeit with a much slower time of 15:28 (he ran 14:53 last year). Both athletes won $8,000 in prize money, with Yihune earning an additional $5,000 for setting a new event record.
BIG MEN’S PACK IS EARLY!
After starting next to Public Park on Boylston Street, 17 men crossed the one-mile mark on Commonwealth Avenue in 4:28 minutes. Undoubtedly overlooking the beautiful pink magnolia blossoms and the multimillion-dollar townhouses lining the road, Edwin Kurgat and Patrick Kiprop of Kenya, Yihune and Cooper Thier of the United States were among the leaders. Also near the front was Morocco’s Mohammed El Yousfi, last Sunday’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile champion, running on just five days rest.
The course includes five sharp turns midway through the race that ultimately send athletes toward the famous Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street. There was some growth in that middle mile, first at Bay State Road and then at Silver Way, with Kiprop and Yihune at the front. They cut the pace down to 4:11 in the second mile and that cut the pack down to just five. Kiprop, Kurgat, Yihune, El Youssfi, and Ethiopian Mezgebu Sime. Competition: was just three seconds behind in seventh place.
“They pushed hard and I think I was just caught a little bit off guard,” Thier told Race Results Weekly. “So I was in no man’s land longer than I wanted to be.”
Yihune, who has a 5,000-meter personal best of 12:49.65, had plenty of energy to cover the final 1.1 miles of the race. Taking a right turn onto Hereford Street before Boylston’s final left turn with about 600 meters to go, Yihune had about three paces on Syme. Kurgat was in third place, Kiprop was in fourth place. Yihune hit the gas again and seemed to be in a full sprint.
“I knew I had to push at the end,” Yihune told reporters through a translator. “That’s what I did for my strategy. That’s exactly what I did.”
Yihune ran 4:08 for the third mile to close out the race. Two weeks ago, he ran a 12:54 5-K in Lille, France, where he finished second, but today he was the winner. His time was six seconds faster than Ben True’s 2017 event record of 13:20 (run on a slightly different course).
“I’m thrilled to win,” Yihune said. “I am so happy.”
Syme finished second by the end, crossing the line in 13:21. Kurgat finished third in 13:23, while Teare rolled Kiprop and El Yousfi to finish fourth in a personal best 13:25. He was happy with his race.
“It was really good practice to be able to push forward,” Thier said. “I knew I had a strong group behind me, so to be able to work through the pace and not let anyone pass me and get a few guys in the lead group in the last mile was a really big confidence booster.”
El Yousfi, who was with the leaders throughout the race, finished seventh in 13:31. Kiprop finished fifth in 13:26, followed by American Anthony Camerieri in sixth in 13:30.
WOMEN’S GREAT WAR WAS THE SECOND
In the women’s race, the lead pack was smaller by 10 at the mile mark. Hambeze finished behind Americans Katie Izzo and Rachel Smith and Germany’s Lea Meyer. They split a reasonable 5:05, but Hambeze cut the pace to 4:59 for the second mile. Only Izzo, who made his 10-mile debut in last Sunday’s Cherry Blossom race, was confident enough to stay with the diminutive Ethiopian. Mercy Jellimo of Kenya and Rachel Smith of the United States were third and fourth, respectively, about five seconds back.
With a big jump in the third mile, Hambeze trailed Izzo with a 4:53 split. That gave him a five-second advantage at the finish line.
“I pushed and it made me win,” he said through a translator.
Izzo appeared to have second place locked up, but Smith made a strong charge in the final mile and caught up to Izzo just before the tape.
“Rachel really is back,” Izzo said, eyes wide in surprise. “Literally 10 steps from the line (he caught me). I fought back and tried to bend him.”
The official time report showed Smith beating Izzo by a tenth of a second, but both athletes were given the same official time of 15:33. Both women were in good spirits awaiting the announcement of the official results.
“I passed him, but he fought back,” said Smith, who, like Izzo, competed in the Cherry Blossom 10-mile run last Sunday. He added: “He crushed me in the 10 (mile), I’ll tell you. This is a little more my speed.”
Meyer, who trains here in Boston, finished fourth in 15:35, with American Katie Camarena fifth in 15:37.
MCFADDEN AND hug wheelchair titles
American Tatiana McFadden and Switzerland’s Marcel Haag won the professional wheelchair titles in 12:29 and 10:25, respectively. It was Hugue’s fourth straight win, and both athletes will compete in the Boston Marathon on Monday. Hug will try for his ninth Boston Marathon title.
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According to the Boston Athletic Association, 9,280 athletes crossed the finish line this morning, up slightly from last year’s 9,144.
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FINISHING
