Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri (Kenya) said she feels like her Olympic bronze medal in the Paris Marathon is like gold. The Kenyan ranked third after Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) and Tigst Assefa (Ethiopia).
Sifan Hassan triumphed in the race in an Olympic record time of 2:22:55 hours and added the gold to the 5,000m and 10,000m bronze medals previously won at the Paris 2024 Olympics..
“It’s unbelievable. I had a bad injury at the Boston Marathon, but I kept my faith in the doctors. I had less than six weeks of long training sessions. I told myself ‘I’m the best’, so I gave my best. I feel this bronze is like gold for me”, said Hellen Obiri. “The course was good but challenging. I fell twice at the water stations. At the 27th kilometer it was so hard for me. My legs didn’t move”, added she.
Hellen Obiri is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country. She is a two-time Olympic 5,000m silver medalist from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also placed fourth over the 10,000m. She is a two-time world champion after winning the 5,000m in 2017 and again in 2019, when she set a new championship record. Hellen Obiri triumphed in the 2023 Boston Marathon, her second marathon race. She places fifth in the half marathon on the world all-time list.
