On Monday, Hellen Obiri of Kenya won the 127th Boston Marathon. In the last mile, Obiri emerged from a lead pack of four women to win.
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Who is Hellen Obiri?
Born on December 13, 1989, Hellen Onsando Obiri is a middle- and long-distance runner from Kenya.
At the 2011 Military World Games in Rio de Janeiro, Obiri competed for the first time on a global stage, winning the bronze medal in the 800 meters and finishing fourth in the 1500 meters.
She won her first international championship in 2012 when racing at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul with a time of 8:37.16 over the 3000 meters.
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She won the silver medal in the 5000 meters two times at the Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020, and she also finished fourth in the 10,000 meters.
In 2017, New African magazine listed her as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Africans.
She has won the 5000 m twice, in 2017 and 2019, the latter of which saw her create a new championship record, making her a two-time global champion.
Obiri won bronze in the 1500 m in 2013 and silver in the 10,000 m in 2022, respectively. At the 2012 World Indoor Championships, she won the 3000 meter race. The following years, she won silver and finished fourth. At the 2019 World Cross Country Championship, she took first place in the women’s race.
In her second marathon, Obiri won the 2023 Boston Marathon. In the history of the half marathon, she comes in sixth position overall.
Obiri now holds the national records for the mile, 3000 meters (both indoors and outdoors), and 5000 meters in Kenya.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Obiri competed for Kenya in the women’s 5000- and 10,000-meter races. She finished second in the former race in a time of 14:38.36, just ahead of Hassan, who ran a 14:36.79. Gudaf Tsegay won the bronze medal in a time of 14:38.87. With a personal best, Obiri finished fourth in the 10,000-meter final behind Hassan, Kalkidan Gezahegne, and Letesenbet Gidey.