Kenyan long-distance runner Hellen Obiri won the New York City Marathon, taking the course in 2:27:23 hours. She sprinted away from Letesenbet Gidey and Sharon Lokedi and crossed the finish line by 6 sec ahead of her competitors.
Letesenbet Gidey finished second in 2:27:29 hours, while Sharon Lokedi was third with 2:27:33 hours.
The race was quite loaded. Kenyan athlete Sharon Lokedi returned to defend her title against a strong field that featured Boston Marathon winner Hellen Obiri, 10,000m and half marathon world record-holder Letesenbet Gidey, and former marathon world record-holder Brigid Kosgei, while Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir was a late withdrawal following the leg injury she sustained a week before the race.
It was a brilliant return for Hellen Obiri, who finished sixth when making her marathon debut in New York last year and who went on to win the Boston Marathon in April. She becomes the first women since Ingrid Kristiansen in 1989 to complete the Boston and New York marathon title double in the same year.
It’s my honour to be here for the second time. My debut here was terrible for me. Sometimes you learn from your mistakes, so I did a lot of mistakes last year and I said I want to try to do my best (this year),” said Hellen Obiri. “It was exciting for me to see Gidey was there. I said, this is like track again, like the World Championships in 2022”, 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 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 world 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 is the 2019 World Cross Country champion and triumphed in the 2023 Boston Marathon, her second marathon race. Hellen Obiri is the Kenyan national record holder for the mile, 3,000m both indoors and out, and 5,000m.
