Half a million fans cheer home Kenya's Hellen Obiri and Ethiopia's Sisay Lemma as they dominate the women's and men's Boston Marathon races... with NFL legend Rob Gronkowski waiting at the finish line

Half a million fans lined Boston's street as they waited to get a glimpse of the 30,000 runners from all over the world taking part in Monday's Boston Marathon.

Ethiopia's Sisay Lemma, 34, was crowned winner of the 2024 men's marathon's, with a time of 2:06:17. After getting over the finish line, Lemma collapsed in a mixture of relief, joy and exhaustion.

The 2021 London champion arrived in Boston with the fastest time in the field, becoming just the fourth person ever to break 2:02:00 when he won in Valencia last year.

The world record is still held by Kelvin Kiptum, who died in a car crash in his native Kenya earlier this year after running in Chicago's marathon with a time of 2:00:35.

Meanwhile Kenya's Hellen Obiri prevailed for the second straight year. Obiri defended her crown in a time of 2:22:37, becoming the first consecutive winner since Catherine Ndereba in 2004 and 2005.

All 50 US states - and nearly 130 countries - were represented in the 128th edition of the historic race, with around 500,000 fans expected to line the streets in Boston

Boston Marathon men's division winner Sisay Lemma, of Ethiopia, left, and women's division winner Hellen Obiri, of Kenya hold up the trophy at the Boston Marathon

Ethiopia's Sisay Lemma was crowned winner of the 2024 Boston Marathon, with a time of 2:06:17

Ethiopia's Sisay Lemma celebrates after winning the men's elite race

Meanwhile Kenya's Hellen Obiri prevailed for the second straight year

Britain's Eden Rainbow-Cooper crosses the finish line to win the women's wheelchair race

Waiting at the end of the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon was former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski

The action kicked off around 9am ET with the men's and women's wheelchair race before the elite runners hit the roads half an hour later.

Then, at 10am ET on Monday, the throng of amateur runners began the 26.2-mile journey from Hopkinton to the finish line on Boylston Street. 

Waiting at the end of the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon was former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski. 

Gronkowski spent nearly a decade in New England, winning three Super Bowls alongside Tom Brady with the Patriots.

The 34-year-old was named 'grand marshal' of the race, having won the 2024 Patriots’ Award. He was seen holding the trophy - and chucking a football - early on Monday morning, before appearing at the red Sox game later in the day to throw the first pitch.

'We couldn´t ask for a better day,' he said, before climbing into an electric car that carried him along the course. 'The city of Boston always comes out to support, no matter the event. The weather is perfection, the energy is popping.'

From bottom, Sara Hall of The United States, Emma Bates of The United States and Desiree Linden of The United States salutes the audience during the 128th Boston Marathon in Boston

US distance runners Des Linden (C) is embraced by Emma Bates (L) and Sara Hall (R) at the finish line

Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia (L) and Hellen Obiri of Kenya, next to her daughter Tania (R), hold the Boston Marathon trophy

Boston Police officers help runner Simon Grant complete the last block at the Boston Marathon

Around 500,000 supporters are expected to line the streets in Boston for the historic race

Emma Bates of Boulder, Colorado, finished 12th — her second straight year as the top American. Again, she found herself leading the race through the 30-kilometer mark, slapping hands as she ran past the Wellesley College students chanting her name before fading on the way out of Heartbreak Hill.

'I thought last year was crazy loud, but this year surpassed that completely,' Bates said. 'It was such a nice day for the spectators. Not so nice for the runners; it was pretty hot.'

CJ Albertson of Fresno, California, was the top American man in seventh, his second top-10 finish.

Each winner collected a gilded olive wreath and $150,000 from a total prize purse that topped $1 million for the first time.

Security was tight in Boston, with this year’s race marking 11 years since the tragic bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds more.  

Former New England Patriots tight end Gronkowski was named 'grand marshal' of the race 

Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia secured the lead in the men's race on Monday morning

Around 10am ET on Monday, the throng of amateur runners began the 26.2-mile journey

The Patriots' Day race also fell on One Boston Day, when the city remembers the victims of the 2013 tragedy. 

At the finish line on Boylston Street, bagpipes accompanied Govenor Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and members of the victims' families as they laid a pair of wreaths at the sites of the explosions.

In the early action, Britain's Eden Rainbow-Cooper won the women's wheelchair race, while Switzerland's Marcel Hug righted himself after crashing into a barrier before coasting to a sixth victory in the men's race - in a course-record time.

Hug already had a four-minute lead about 18 miles in when reached the landmark firehouse turn in Newton. He spilled into the fence, flipping sideways, but quickly got back on track.

Switzerland's Marcel Hug secured a sixth win in the men's wheelchair race - in record time

Yuma Morii of Japan pulls away from the pack during the men's elite race in Boston

Swiss athlete Marcel Hug and English athlete Eden Rainbow Cooper hold a trophy after finishing first place in the men's and women's wheelchair professional field

Police on bicycles approach the finish line at the Boston Marathon

A Vizsla named Whiskey watches as runners make their way from the start of the marathon

He finished in 1 hour, 15 minutes, 33 seconds - breaking his previous record by 1:33 to win his 14th straight major marathon and his 24th overall.

The festivities began around 6am, when race director Dave McGillivray sent about 30 Massachusetts National Guard members off. 

The otherwise sleepy New England town of Hopkinton celebrated its 100th anniversary as the starting line, sending off a field of 17 former champions and nearly 30,000 other runners on its way. 

Near the finish on Boylston Street, officials observed the anniversary of the 2013 bombing that killed three and wounded hundreds more.

Elite female runners break from the start line of the Boston Marathon

The 34-year-old spent nearly a decade in New England, winning three Super Bowls alongside Tom Brady with the Patriots

Runners make their way from the start of the Boston Marathon on Monday

A wave of runners start the Boston Marathon

Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when two pressure-cooker bombs went off at the marathon finish line.

Among the dead were Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China; Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford, Massachusetts; and 8-year-old Martin Richard, who had gone to watch the marathon with his family.

During a tense, four-day manhunt that paralyzed the city, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier was shot dead in his car. Boston Police Officer Dennis Simmonds also died a year after he was wounded in a confrontation with the bombers.

Mayor Michelle Wu, Governor Maura Healey and family members of the Boston Marathon bombing victims lay wreaths at a memorial site on Boylston Street on the eleventh anniversary of the attack

General view as a wreath and flowers are seen at a memorial site on Boylston Street on the eleventh anniversary of the attack

Three people were killed in 2013 and more than 260 were injured when two pressure-cooker bombs went off at the Boston marathon finish line

Police captured a bloodied and wounded Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston suburb of Watertown, where he was hiding in a boat parked in a backyard, hours after his brother died 

Police captured a bloodied and wounded Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston suburb of Watertown, where he was hiding in a boat parked in a backyard, hours after his brother died. 

Tsarnaev had been in a gunfight with police and was run over by his brother as he fled.

He was sentenced to death and much of the attention, in recent years, has been around his bid to avoid being executed.

The bombing not only unified Boston — 'Boston Strong' became the city’s rallying cry — but inspired many in the running community and prompted scores of those impacted by the terror attack to run the marathon.