Two-time Olympic 5,000m silver medalist Hellen Obiri won the Boston Marathon in 2:21:38 hours. It was only the Kenyan’s second appearance at this distance after finishing sixth in New York last year.
“I tried to be patient and wait for the right time to happen. Today was my time”, said Hellen Obiri after the final.
She had stiff competition, with Ethiopia’s Amane Beriso finishing just 12 sec behind her and Israel’s athlete Lonah Chemtai Salpeter finishing third in 2:21:57 hours.
“I felt my body was ready. I believed in myself. I’m so happy. I hadn’t decided which marathon I was going to run this year, but I chose Boston. My coach said ‘you’ve been training well, you’re ready for Boston’. I am so happy that I chose him”, said also Hellen Obiri.
Hellen Obiri is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. She 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 medallist from the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 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 also took bronze for the 1,500m in 2013 and silver in the 10,000m in 2022. She won the 3,000m race at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, claimed silver in 2014, and placed fourth in 2018. She won the women’s race at the 2019 World Cross Country Championship.
Obiri is the Kenyan national record holder for the mile, 3,000m both indoors and out, and 5,000m.