Boston Marathon Announces All Four Defending Champions Will Return in 2026

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has unveiled a star-studded field for the 130th Boston Marathon. In an announcement on Thursday, Dec. 11, the B.A.A. stated that the marathon will feature all four champions from this year, as well as the men's and women's American record-holders in the pro fields.

According to a NewsCenter 5 report, all four defending open and wheelchair division champions, plus the defending American record holders, will all compete in the same edition of the world's oldest annual marathon.

“With 130 years of history, it's rare that you have something that is unprecedented,” B.A.A. president and CEO Jack Fleming told the Boston Globe. “Athletes have choices. Some of them want to run different courses. So when they do elect to return to Boston, we feel that additional emotional connection with them, as well as the athletic admiration.”

Boston Marathon champions Sharon Lokedi (Kenya, women's open division), John Korir (Kenya, men's open division), Susannah Scaroni (USA, women's wheelchair division), and Marcel Hug (Switzerland, men's wheelchair division) will all return next year to defend their titles. Meanwhile, American record holders and 2024 Olympians Conner Mantz and Emily Sisson will enter as favorites to win.

Korir won this year's marathon in 2:04:45, the third fastest time in Boston Marathon history. Korir joined his brother Wesley (a 2012 champion) to become the first set of siblings to win the Boston Marathon. 

Lokedi scored 2:17:22 in April, breaking a course record that had stood since 2014. Lokedi managed to eliminate more than two minutes, 30 seconds from her previous event best (2:19:59). She finished second at the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon.

Hug earned his eighth Boston Marathon title in April. He is now tied for second with Jean Driscoll on the all-time Boston wins list (only behind Ernst van Dyk's 10 wheelchair division wins). 

Scaroni is a two-time Boston winner (2023, 2025), with a winning time of 1:35:20 this year. Mantz returns after a fourth-place, 2:05:08 run in April. It's the highest finish by an American man since Boston 2018.

Meanwhile, Sisson looks to take on the Boston Marathon for the first time.

The complete Bank of America Professional Athlete Field will be announced in January 2026. The race is scheduled for April 20, 2026.