The 49th running of the Boilermaker 15K delivered new champions on both sides of the elite race on Sunday, as Kenya's Alex Matata claimed the men's title in 42:24 and Ethiopia's Tsigie Gebreselama rewrote the women's open record with a 47:29 victory through the streets of Utica, New York.
Matata, a 28-year-old based in Tampa, Florida, was making his first appearance at the race and mastered its famously punishing course to come home clear of the chasing pack. With neither John Korir nor Veronica Loleo returning to defend their titles, the race had guaranteed first-time winners before a step was run, and Matata seized the opportunity emphatically.
Gebreselama's performance was arguably the run of the day. The Ethiopian clipped four seconds from the previous women's open record of 47:33, and her winning time capped a remarkable stretch of American road racing form: just eight days earlier she had won the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, the world's largest 10K. Backing up that effort with a record over the longer, hillier Utica course underlines her standing among the sport's in-form road racers.
The sold-out race once again lived up to its billing as one of the great fixtures on the American road calendar, with thousands of finishers following the elites across the line and the traditional post-race party waiting at the finish. The Boilermaker also served as the penultimate stop on the 2025-26 PRRO Circuit, adding championship stakes to the prize money on offer.
For both champions, Utica may prove a springboard. Matata's victory announces him as a contender at the sharp end of American road racing this autumn, while Gebreselama's record-breaking double in the space of nine days suggests a marathon build-up of real menace. The Boilermaker returns for its 50th running in 2027, an anniversary edition that now has two compelling champions to invite back.