As the World Championships loom, two-time Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri has no intentions of returning to the global extravaganza scheduled for September in Tokyo, Japan.
She is willing to pave the way for the next generation to shine.
"It’s only right to give the young athletes a chance to shine at the World Championships. I already have gold from the global event, so I am ready and willing to give my chance to a younger athlete,” she noted.
Obiri boasts two gold medals in the 5,000m at the World championships, having triumphed in London 2017 (14:34.86) and Doha 2019 (14:26.72).
She has a silver in the 10,000m (30:10.02) from the 2022 Championships in Eugene and bronze in the 1,500m (4:03.86) from Moscow 2013.
After jetting back to the country to attend the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Nairobi last week, Obiri is now heading back to the U.S. to reunite with her family and resume training.
“I will be going back to the US to have some time with my family and begin my training towards other races,” she noted.
Meanwhile, Obiri has set her sights on a resurgent road racing season after narrowly missing out on a historic treble in Boston last week.
Heading into the April 21 showdown, the long-distance star was chasing a place in the history books as the first woman ever to win three consecutive Boston Marathon titles.
Obiri clinched her maiden Boston crown in 2023, powering to victory in 2:21:38 ahead of Ethiopia’s Amane Beriso (2:21:50) and Israel’s Lornah Salpeter (2:21:57).
She returned last year to successfully defend her title, clocking 2:22:37 with compatriots Sharon Lokedi (2:22:45) and veteran Edna Kiplagat (2:23:21) in pursuit.
But this year, the hat-trick dream slipped away. Despite a blistering personal best of 2:17:41, Obiri had to settle for second place behind Lokedi, who shattered the course record with a 2:17:22 finish.
The 35-year-old, who trains with the On Athletics Club in the U.S., is now focused on recovery and regrouping before planning her next move with her coaching team.
“I’m taking a short break, then in two weeks, I’ll resume training. We will sit down and map out the next races,” Obiri declared.
Reflecting on the Boston race, Obiri was pleased with her performance, more so having shaved off nearly four minutes from her previous personal best of 2:21:38 in Boston 2023.
“Boston was great, the weather was good, and we ran well. Of course, I was expecting a third title, but sometimes you can’t force things to happen.”
“Running 2:17 in Boston has helped me a lot. I have shaved off nearly four minutes from my previous personal best, which is a huge achievement for me,” Obiri said.
Despite the setback, there was no bitterness—only pride in the Kenyan flag still flying high. Obiri was full of praise for Lokedi, her close friend and friendly rival.
“I thank God that Sharon won. She is my friend and I respect her a lot. When we have competitions we try to help each other.”
She highlighted that the two pushed each other at the Boston race, but unfortunately, her body could not respond effectively.
“In Boston we tried to help each other but my body failed. All in all I am extremely happy that a Kenyan won.”
