BOSTON (AP) — Sharon Lokedi couldn't quite find her rhythm early in the 130th Boston Marathon.
The pace wasn't quite to her liking and she began to feel herself getting tired. Then she made a decision.
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Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, celebrates after winning the women's division of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Marathon winner Sharon Lokedi takes the lead on the course heading up Heartbreak Hill in Newton, Mass., on Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, celebrates while approaching the finish line to win the women's division of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, celebrates after winning the women's division of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, celebrates after winning the women's division of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
“Honestly, I just went with it and I pulled through at that time I was like, I can just push it and see how it goes," Lokedi said.
She figured things out, and then some.
Lokedi captured her second straight Boston Marathon women's title on Monday, fending off a late challenge and powering through the 26.2 miles of the world’s oldest and most prestigious annual marathon in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 51 seconds to lead an all-Kenyan podium sweep.
It was the fourth-fastest time ever by a woman in Boston and marked the 18th win by a Kenyan woman.
“I left it all out there, that’s all I can say," Lokedi said.
Loice Chemnung was on her shoulder late before fading and crossing second in 2:19:35. Mary Ngugi-Cooper was third in 2:20:07. Mercy Chelangat came across 23 seconds later to make it a Kenyan top 4.
Ngugi-Cooper, who finished second in Boston in 2021, said getting on the podium was like a “thank you” to a city that has always embraced her.
“This is a special race for me," she said.
Jess McClain was the best American finisher in fifth place, crossing in 2:20:49 — the fastest time for a U.S. women in the Boston race's history. She was also the top American last year, running the then-fourth-fastest time ever for a U.S. woman in Boston when she finished seventh in her debut. Monday's time was 1:54 faster than her time last year and 1:13 better than the previous record held by Shalane Flanagan from 2014.
“To do that on a day like today with amazing conditions and to run the time that I knew was in me, at some point in the wheelhouse of what I can do, is really awesome," McClain said.
McClain’s effort on Monday came after she received resolution regarding a wrong turn at the U.S. half marathon championships last month. The Phoenix resident was ahead by a wide margin with about 1.5 miles to go when she and three other runners followed the guide vehicle on a wrong turn.
Track and field’s international governing body decided to allow seven Americans — instead of the usual four — to compete at the world championships in Denmark.
Lokedi came into Monday as the overwhelming favorite for the 130th Boston Marathon after she traversed the course last year in 2:17:22 to break the 11-year-old course record and deprived runner-up Hellen Obiri of a third straight title.
In that 2025 race, Lokedi outdueled Obiri, sprinting away from her late in the race.
With Obiri opting to skip Boston and run in London later this month, Lokedi had to fend off Chemnung and another Kenyan, Irine Chepet, in the latter part of the course. Chepet ended up in sixth place.
It was just Lokedi and Chemnung to fight it out with just over four miles to go before the defending champion opened about a 10-second gap, taking the lead entering the Newton Hills.
She ran Miles 22, 23 and 24 in 4:41, 4:48 and 4:35, respectively.
But she barely had any idea what her splits were. While on the bus heading to the starting line, she realized she had forgotten her watch. She wound up borrowing one at the last minute, but didn't check it down the stretch.
“I knew I was going fast, I just didn’t know how fast I was going," Lokedi said. “I just wanted to run as fast as I could.”
She wouldn’t relinquish her lead, finding more speed going downhill and she was all alone by the time she reached downtown and sprinted up Boylston Street to the finish line.
“I just had to be patient,” Lokedi said. “I was very tired, I didn’t know if I had it today. ... But I felt like this was it. I was either going to go or I was going to stay.”
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Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, celebrates after winning the women's division of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Marathon winner Sharon Lokedi takes the lead on the course heading up Heartbreak Hill in Newton, Mass., on Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, celebrates while approaching the finish line to win the women's division of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, celebrates after winning the women's division of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, celebrates after winning the women's division of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A stunned Louisiana city struggled to come to grips Monday with the massacre of eight children carried out by a father who was separating from his wife and used an assault-style weapon despite a 2019 felony firearms conviction.
The violence reverberated across Shreveport a day after one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings in recent years. Schools brought in counselors for the victims' young classmates and neighbors grieved at a growing memorial. Community leaders called for a city-wide reckoning about how to stop domestic violence.
“We can not afford to wait until the next crisis,” said Caddo Parish Sheriff Henry Whitehorn. “This is the responsibility of all of us. We owe it to the eight children who were lost.”
The shooter, identified as Shamar Elkins, killed seven of his children and another child, police said. His wife also was shot and wounded.
His wife's sister, who called police minutes after the shooting started, escaped with a child by jumping from the roof, police and family members said Monday.
“She said she was running for her life,” said Lionel Pugh, an uncle of the two women shot. “The only ones he didn’t kill was the ones who got away.”
Elkins died after fleeing and a police pursuit that ended with officers firing on him. It was not clear whether he was killed by officers or from a self-inflicted gunshot, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said.
Officials said the children who died — three boys and five girls — ranged in age from 3 to 11 years old.
Elkins and his wife, identified by family members as Shaneiqua Elkins, were separating and had been due in court Monday, said Crystal Brown, a cousin of a woman shot in the attack. She said the couple had been arguing about the separation before the shooting.
Family members described Shaneiqua Elkins as a doting mother, who celebrated her children’s success in school and carefully dressed them before family events.
“She raised those kids right,” Pugh said. “They were the center of her universe.”
While the shooter did not appear to have an extensive criminal history, court records showed Elkins was placed on probation in 2019 after pleading guilty to illegal use of weapons. In that case, Elkins fired five rounds at a vehicle and told police that someone inside it had pulled a gun on him, according to a police report.
Based on Louisiana law, a person convicted of certain violent felonies — including illegal use of weapons — are banned from having a gun for at least 10 years after completing their sentence and probation.
Investigators were not aware of other domestic violence issues involving Elkins, said police spokesperson Chris Bordelon.
Elkins had served in the Louisiana National Guard from 2013 to 2020 as a signal support system specialist and a fire support specialist, said guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Noel Collins. Elkins held the rank of private and had no deployments, Collins said.
Authorities said the shooting erupted before dawn at two homes.
Elkins shot a woman in a neighborhood south of downtown and a few blocks away at a home where the children were found, police said. Elkins' nephew was among the slain children, according to the Caddo Parish coroner’s office.
Mourners lit candles for the victims Sunday night in a nearby parking lot.
“It just makes you take your children and hug them and hold them and tell them how much you love them because you just don’t know,” said Kimberlin Jackson, who attended the vigil and is an advocate at the Head Start program where one of the victims was a student. She said the last time she saw him was Friday.
Francine Monro Brown, a cousin of Shaneiqua Elkins, said she would often see the children playing in the yard on Sunday mornings when she drove past the house on her way to church.
“Happy children, joyful children. Shaneiqua is a great mother, She provided a great home for the kids,” Brown said as she stood near a growing memorial of stuffed teddy bears, flowers and pink and blue balloons.
Betty Pugh, another cousin of Shaneiqua Elkins, said she was always with her children. “That was the way we were taught: to love our kids, to take care of our kids. And that’s what she did,” Pugh said.
The mayor of Shreveport, a city of about 180,000 residents in northwestern Louisiana, called it one of the city's worst days.
The shooting was the deadliest in the U.S. since January 2024, when eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
Contributing were Associated Press reporters Jack Brook in New Orleans; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Jake Offenhartz in New York; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Terry Tang in Phoenix, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.
Shreveport Marshal James Jefferson speaks during a news conference about the children were killed during a mass shooting the day before in Shreveport, La., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A woman walks to leave flowers and balloons on the front lawn of the home where children were killed during a mass shooting the day before in Shreveport, La., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Attendees pray at the conclusion of a news conference about the children killed during a mass shooting the day before in Shreveport, La., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A person passes the home where a mass shooting occurred the day before in Shreveport, La., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Councilman Reverend James Green consoles people outside the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Shreveport, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Council woman Tabatha Taylor, right, hugs an unknown person outside the scene of a mass shooting in Shreveport, La., Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Police work outside the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Shreveport, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People light candles during a prayer vigil for the victims of a mass shooting earlier in the day, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Shreveport, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A man holds a candle during a prayer vigil for the victims of a mass shooting earlier in the day, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Shreveport, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
