From track to road, Obiri eyes the big break at the Olympics
Hellen Obiri of Kenya reacts as she crosses the finish line to win the women's division at the 2024 Boston Marathon.
Kenyans have won gold medals in women’s marathon at the last two editions of the Olympic Games, and the smart money is on that winning streak stretching to three.
Disgraced drug cheat Jemimah Sumgong won at Rio de Janeiro 2016 in a time of 2:24:04 before Peris Jepchirchir claimed gold at the delayed Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021).
Jepchirchir easily made the team for this year’s Paris Olympics and will be amongst the favourites to claim gold.
She will lead the Kenya assault that also has Sharon Lokedi who recently replaced the injured Brigid Kosgei, and US-based former track star Hellen Obiri.
Obiri has not hidden her ambitions of finishing on top of the podium after good preparations in Colorado.
“I’m delighted that I’m heading to the Olympics for the fourth time. I want to achieve what I have been dreaming of, which is a gold medal, and as I finalize my training I pray I remain healthy and injury free,” said Obiri.
A seasoned runner with many wins under her belt, Obiri admitted the Paris marathon field was strong and winning gold for any runner would be hard.
“The Kenya team is strong. I will be approaching the race with caution because everybody has trained hard and want to win,” said the reigning Boston Marathon champion.
Obiri won last year’s Boston Marathon, relegating Jepchirchir to third place.
She retained her Boston crown this year as Lokedi finished second.
Obiri will fly direct to Paris without passing by Nairobi where she will team up with her mates for the women’s race scheduled for Sunday, August 11
The rising marathon star shifted her training base from Colorado to St Moritz, Switzerland on July 5 as she looks to familiarise herself with conditions in Europe.
Interestingly, Obiri has never won gold at the Olympics despite making three successive appearances.
She finished eighth in women’s 1,500m in her debut Olympics, the 2012 London Games.
She then shifted to the 5,000m and was rewarded with a silver medal at the 2026 Rio Games where compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot won gold .
She followed that up with another silver in the same race in Tokyo as talented Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan claimed gold.
Obiri would later shift to the 10,000m race where she won silver at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, USA before leaving the track for the road.
She would debut at the 2022 New York Marathon finishing sixth.
Lessons were learnt as she won the Boston Marathon followed by the New York Marathon in 2023 to start a rather productive career in road running.
Gold in Paris will leave no doubt that she is amongst the pre-eminent force in women’s marathon running in the world.
