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Kenyan Hellen Obiri had moved to Colorado to train under the guidance of American coach Dathan Ritzenhein. But because the winter is harsh in comparison to Kenya, she went home to prepare for the Boston Marathon.
The 35-year-old transitioned nicely to the marathon from the 5000m event.
š°šŖās @hellen_obiri storms to the @nycmarathon victory after a spine-tingling sprint š„
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) November 5, 2023
Thatās her second @WMMajors victory of the year as she already won the @bostonmarathon in April š„µ
pic.twitter.com/ODbG8fmTN5
āIt would have been difficult for me to keep training in the US because there is a very strong winter and it is snowing most of the time and this would force me to skip some days,ā Obiri told Telecomasia.net.
āThat is why I opted to come back to Kenya and start my preparations here then travel back for the final phase towards race day.ā
She has now won the 2023 and 2024 Boston Marathon and is looking to join Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia in winning the historic event three consecutive times. Roba won in 1997, 98 and 99. Her fastest was 2:23:21. She also finished third and fifth position in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
Obiri is the two-time Olympic 5000m silver medallist from the 2016 Rio and 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. She also took gold in both the 2017 London and 2019 Doha World Athletics Championships in the 12.5-lap race.
Obiri took bronze in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Marathon on August 11. She finished in a personal best time of 2:23:10.
