- Hellen Obiri is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country.
- Obiri was born on December 13, 1989, in Boginchoncho village, Kisii, Kenya.
Image: BOSTON MARATHON
Hellen Obiri is a two-time Olympic medalist and seven-time world championships individual medalist.
She is the reigning Boston Marathon Champion after successfully defending her Gold medal on Monday.
Obiri secured her second consecutive victory at the Boston Marathon, crossing the finish line in 2:22:37 and leading a Kenyan sweep of the podium.
Obiri, 34, outpaced her compatriot Sharon Lokedi, 30, in the closing stages of the race.
She also holds the Kenyan record in the 3,000 meters.
Obiri is the first Kenyan woman to win back-to-back Marathons after last year's Boston Marathon victory in her second-ever attempt at the distance.
Obiri triumphed in her debut marathon while transitioning from middle-distance to long-distance running.
She also claimed victory at the 2023 New York City Marathon.
Obiri set a record and world lead at the 2020 Diamond League in Monaco, France.
She is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country.
Due to her achievements, Obiri has bagged several awards including the Sports Woman of the Year in 2019 during the annual Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
Family and Education
Obiri was born on December 13, 1989, in Boginchoncho village, Kisii.
Obiri has kept details about her mother and siblings away from the limelight.
She is the fourth child in a family of six children to her father Mzee Isaac Obiri
For her early education, she enrolled at Ekeonga Primary School.
Later on, she proceeded to Riruta Central Secondary School in Nairobi.
She was an active marathoner during her primary and secondary school years.
Later, she lost interest in athletics and focused more on her studies.
Obiri's father wanted her to pursue a career in athletics when she was a little girl.
At the age of 14, she represented her school in the 200 metres and 400 metres during the national athletics competitions.
Major Race
Her first major race was in the 2010 Kenya Armed Forces Cross Country Championships, where she completed the 32nd position.
The following year, she took part in the same race and emerged 5th after some training.
Noah Ngeny advised her to focus on middle-distance races.
She qualified for the 2011 World Championships in Daegu.
During the event, she set her personal best time but did not get to the finals.
Breakthrough and major victories
The biggest break in her career came in 2012 when she won the world indoor 3000m title.
Since that time, she has won several races, including:
1500m bronze at the Moscow 2013 World Championships
3000m silver at the Sopot 2014 World Indoor Championships
3000m gold at the Istanbul 2012 World Indoor Championships
4 x 1500m gold at the Nassau 2014 IAAF World Relays
1500 m gold at Marrakech 2014 African Championships
Others victories are
5000m silver at Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games
5000m gold at London 2017 World Championships
5000m gold at Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games
5000m gold at Asaba 2018 African Championships
5000m gold at Doha 2019 World Championships
5000m silver at Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games
10000m silver at Eugene 2022 World Championships
Half marathon gold at 2022 Istanbul Half Marathon
KDF career
Obiri is a member of the Kenya Defence Forces.
She joined KDF and trained at the Eldoret Barracks and training grounds.
She secured admission to KDF after winning the race and graduated in 2009 during the colourful pass-out.
After she passed out, she was posted to Laikipia Airbase.
After an outstanding performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, she was promoted to Senior Sergeant.
After winning the Boston Marathon, Obiri was promoted to Air Force Sergeant Major Warrant Officer II by KDF boss General Francis Ogolla.