Lawrence Cherono secured a thrilling Boston Marathon victory in the men's race while the women's event was won in starkly contrasting fashion by Worknesh Degefa.

Running over this distance for the first time in Boston, Cherono edged out two-time winner Lelisa Desisa in a scintillating sprint to the line, the Kenyan overhauling his rival from Ethiopia and breaking the tape just two seconds ahead in a time of two hours, seven minutes and 57 seconds.

Cherono's compatriot Kenneth Kipkemoi took third, a further eight seconds back, while there was no such close finish in the elite women's race.

That was because Degefa, also competing in her first Boston Marathon, ran away from the field as early as the six-mile marker, covering the remaining 20 miles alone as she finished in a time of 2:23.31, 42 seconds clear of Edna Kiplagat while home hope Jordan Hasay (2:25.20) completed the podium.

The 123rd edition of the famous race was being contested on April 15 for the first time since the terrorist attacks at the event in 2013.

Around 30,000 runners set off from Hopkinton in damp but relatively warm conditions as the race progressed on the sixth anniversary of the bombings that killed three and injured hundreds more, some very seriously.

Since 2015, April 15 has been dubbed One Boston Day.

Meanwhile in MLB, the Red Sox – wearing uniforms with "Boston" on the front instead of the usual "Red Sox" on home whites – held a moment of silence before facing the Baltimore Orioles in the annual Patriots Day morning game.

Also at Fenway Park, two first-responders — EMT Christopher Holgate and paramedic Randall Souza — were to be honoured in the middle of the fourth inning. They were stationed near the finish line of the 2013 marathon and were among the first to provide care.