Kenyan Evans Chebet can join a select group in BAA history when he steps to the starting line for Monday morning’s 128th running of the Boston Marathon.

The two-time defending champion has an opportunity to become only the fifth runner in the men’s open field to three-peat on the arduous 26.2-mile trip from Hopkinton Center to Copley Square.

Chebet could join Clarence H. DeMar (1922-1924), William “Boston Billy” Rodgers (1978-1980) and Kenyan compatriots Cosmas Ndeti (1993-1995) and Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot (2006-2008) in the exclusive club. DeMar is a six-time winner at Boston but no runner has ever won four straight races.

“Yes, I have done my training and I decide to come back to Boston,” said Chebet. “I am happy because this year I have come here to win and so I am very happy.

“I am ready because my training went well and I did not run in New York so I decided to come back. Yes, I know about these (three straight wins) things.”

Chebet enters his fourth Boston with the hope of representing Kenya in the marathon at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The Olympic marathon will be run on Aug. 10.

Chebet enjoys a lofty list of accomplishments in the Abbott Marathon Majors races that includes being one of only six men to win the Boston (2:06:51) and New York (2:08:41) marathons in the same year (2022). Chebet has a fourth in Berlin (2:05:31) in 2016 and a fourth in London (2:05:43) in 2021. Chebet’s personal best time is 2:03:00, that he ran at Valencia, Spain, in 2020.

Chebet’s resume as a marathon runner is outstanding, but it hasn’t been enough to secure his place on the Athletics Kenya list for Paris. That alone makes winning a third straight Boston Marathon his career priority of the moment.

“Maybe if I win again in Boston, I go to Olympics,” said Chebet. “I want to go to (the Olympics) and maybe if I win Boston.”

Chebet did not finish the race in his Boston debut in 2018, after which he vowed never to return because of the harsh racing conditions. In his two subsequent victories, Chebet displayed masterful tactics and determined running on the Newton hills to reach the finish line alone.

In 2022, Chebet was in a group of 15 when he made his move on Heartbreak Hill. He then opened a sizable lead on the low-grade downward slide to Kenmore Square. Chebet led a Kenya sweep when he was followed by Lawrence Cherono (2:07:21) and defending champion Benson Kipruto (2:07:27). Gabriel Geay of Tanzania, who dogged Chebet from the Firehouse Turn to the summit of Heartbreak Hill, placed fourth in 2:07:57.

In 2023, Chebet, Geay and Kipruto comprised a troika that would break from the field on Heartbreak Hill. The challengers were on Chebet’s heels as they made the turn onto Boylston Street but could not run down the reigning champion. Chebet secured his second laurel wreath with a time of 2:05:54 followed by Geay (2:06:04) and Kipruto (2:06:06).

“Evans is a strong guy and he wins here back-to-back,” said Geay. “Having Evans in the field makes it tough and he is a good guy as well. We are friends and we are racing together. I tried to push him and it was very tactical.”

Geay, along with Ethiopians Sisay Lemma, Haftu Teklu and Shura Kitata and Kenyans Cybrian Kotut and John Korir, have the same Boston ambitions and Paris aspirations as Chebet. That duality of purposes should make for an exciting race.

Lemma has the fastest personal best time (2:01:48) in the field, which he ran at Valencia in 2023. But Lemma’s record in Boston is a bit sketchy. He finished 30th in his Boston debut with a time of 2:22:08 and he did not finish the 2020 race. On both occasions, Lemma’s race fell apart on Heartbreak Hill.

Unlike many of the African runners in the field, Geay has already secured his place on the Tanzanian Olympic team.

“I enjoy everything about being here to race in Boston and I think this course is for me,” said Geay. “Actually, Boston is good for me and the course is hard on everyone so I try to make it good for me.

“Boston is a tactical race and you need to train hard on uphills and downhills and that is about it. I have trained for it.”

Matt McDonald of Cambridge, who raced collegiately at Princeton and competes for the BAA High Performance Team, will lead the American contingent. McDonald has run Boston four times and he’s gotten progressively better with each trip.

McDonald recorded his fastest time (2:10:17) and best finish (10th) in last year’s race. McDonald is a three-time veteran of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where he posted his personal best time of 2:09:49 in 2022.

“I think this year in particular being an Olympic year, we are going to see some people playing some more mind games and I think the race might be a bit more tactical,” said McDonald. “You might see them competing more against each other versus against the course or against the clock than we typically see.

“With that being said, Boston depends a ton on the weather and the forecast right now looks pretty nice. If the weather is nice, some of the really fast guys might be thinking about some unbelievable times to send a message they are racing for Paris.”