Nairobi — Evans Chebet's dream of becoming the first man since Robert Cheruiyot in 2008 to win the Boston Marathon three times in a row was shattered, as the defending champion settled for third place, clocking 2:07:22 in a race won by Ethiopia's Sisay Lemma.

Lemma ran a hugely lonely race after deciding to burst upfront after just 10km, clocking 2:06:17, leading an Ethiopian 1-2 finish with Mohamed Esa finishing second in 2:06:58.

Esa had galloped past Chebet in the final 2km of the race, with the Kenyan failing to land a response but doing enough just to hold on for third.

Lemma was delighted with the win, but admitted it was tough to run most of it alone.

"I was confident when we started. It was a tough race but I am happy with the win and I am feeling good. At first it was very comfortable especially the first 20km, but the second half, especially the last 10 was very difficult but I kept running," said the Ethiopian, speaking after the race.