Brigid Kosgei
Kosgei during the 2018 London Marathon
Personal information
Born (1994-02-20) 20 February 1994 (age 29)
Sinon, Kapsowar, Kenya
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Marathon
Long-distance running
Coached byEric Kimaiyo
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Marathon
Representing  Kenya
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Marathon
World Marathon Majors
Gold medal – first place 2018 Chicago Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2019 London Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2019 Chicago Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2020 London Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2021 Tokyo Marathon
Silver medal – second place 2017 Chicago Marathon
Silver medal – second place 2018 London Marathon

Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei (born 20 February 1994)[1] is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She won the 2018 and 2019 Chicago Marathons, the 2019 and 2020 London Marathons and the 2021 Tokyo Marathon. Kosgei was the marathon world record holder for women running in a mixed-sex race, with a time of 2:14:04 achieved on 13 October 2019 at the Chicago Marathon.[2] She won the silver medal in the marathon event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Personal life

Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei grew up in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya, and has six siblings.[3] Her sister Pamela is a steeplechase runner.[4] Aged 17, Kosgei began running, training with her boyfriend and now husband Matthew Kosgei.[3]

Career

Kosgei finished in the top two in eight of the first nine marathons that she ran.[5] She came second at the 2016 Lisbon Marathon behind fellow Kenyan Sarah Chepchirchir, in a personal best time of 2:24:45. Her time was faster than the previous course record.[6][7] In 2017, Kosgei won the Bogotá Half Marathon, and came third at the Copenhagen Half Marathon.[8] She came second in the 2017 Chicago Marathon in a personal best time of 2:20:22.[5][9] Her time was the sixth-fastest ever time at the Chicago Marathon.[8] Weeks later, she won the Honolulu Marathon, beating the course record by over five minutes.[5] In 2018, Kosgei came second in the London Marathon behind Vivian Cheruiyot.[5][9] After injuring herself during the Bogotá Marathon, Kosgei decided to run the Great North Run, in order to practice ahead of the 2018 Chicago Marathon. She finished the event second, behind Cheruiyot.[5][10] Kosgei later won the Chicago Marathon, after breaking away from a group of two other Kenyans and three Ethiopians after 30–35 kilometres (19–22 mi) of the race. She set a personal best time of 2:18:35.[5][9][11] During 2018, Kosgei also won a cross country event in Eldoret, Kenya,[12] and the Kalya Half Marathon in Kapenguria, Kenya.[13][14]

Kosgei won the 2019 London Marathon, becoming the youngest woman to win the event.[15] This was the third-best time in London after Paula Radcliffe in 2005 with 2:17:42 and Mary Keitany in 2017 with the world record 2:17:01. At the 2019 Great North Run, Kosgei won in a course-record time of 1:04.28, 23 seconds faster than the previous half marathon world record set by Joyciline Jepkosgei.[16]

She won the 2019 Chicago Marathon on 13 October 2019 in a world record time of 2:14:04, an improvement of her personal best by more than 4 minutes.[17] She beat the previous world record by 81 seconds,[18] and was over six minutes ahead of second place Ababel Yeshaneh.[2] Kosgei wore specially adapted Nike shoes, which have been alleged to have given her a 60–90 second advantage.[19][20] Later in the year, she won the 15 km Saint Silvester Road Race in a time of 48:54.[21]

In February 2020, Kosgei finished second to Yeshaneh at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon. Kosgei's time of 1:04:49 was two seconds better than the previous world record.[22][23] Kosgei and Yeshaneh's time of 30:18 after 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) of the race was only one second slower than the best time set in a track 10,000m event in 2019.[23] Later in the year, Kosgei won the rescheduled 2020 London Marathon by over three minutes. Kosgei broke away from the pack 18 miles (29 km) into the race and stayed ahead for the rest of the race. She finished in a time of 2:18.58.[24]

Before its postponement, Kosgei was chosen to lead the Kenyan women's marathon squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The other athletes chosen in the squad were Cheruiyot and Ruth Chepng'etich.[25][26] In February 2021, Kosgei was confirmed in the Kenyan marathon team for the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympics, alongside Cheruiyot, Chepng'etich and Peres Jepchirchir.[27] It was Kosgei's first appearance at the Olympics.[25] She finished second behind Jepchirchir.[28] Later in the year, she came fourth at the 2021 London Marathon.[29] In March 2022, Kosgei won the delayed 2021 Tokyo Marathon in a time of 2:16:20, the third fastest ever time.[30]

At the 2024 ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon, Kosgei broke the course record in a time of 2:19:15.[31]

Achievements

All information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[1]

Marathon competition record

Year Date Competition Location Rank Time
2015 8 November Porto Marathon Porto 1st 2:47:59
2016 3 April Milano City Marathon Milan 1st 2:27:45
2 October Lisbon Marathon Lisbon 2nd 2:24:45
11 December Honolulu Marathon Honolulu 1st 2:31:11
2017 17 April Boston Marathon Boston 8th 2:31:48
8 October Chicago Marathon Chicago 2nd 2:20:22
10 December Honolulu Marathon Honolulu 1st 2:22:15
2018 22 April London Marathon London 2nd 2:20:13
7 October Chicago Marathon Chicago 1st 2:18:35
2019 28 April London Marathon London 1st 2:18:20
13 October Chicago Marathon Chicago 1st 2:14:04
2020 4 October London Marathon London 1st 2:18:58
2021 7 August Olympic Games Sapporo 2nd 2:27:36
3 October London Marathon London 4th 2:18:40
2022 6 March Tokyo Marathon Tokyo 1st 2:16:20

Personal bests

Distance Time
(h):m:s		 Location Date Notes
5 km 15:13 Lisbon, Portugal 19 May 2019
10 km 30:58 Atlanta, GA, United States 4 July 2022 (also 29:54 * not legal)
15 km 48:54 São Paulo, Brazil 31 December 2019
Half marathon 1:04:49 Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates 21 February 2020 (also 1:04:28 * not legal)
Marathon 2:14:04 Chicago, IL, United States 13 October 2019 Mx World record

References

  1. ^ a b "Brigid Kosgei – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b Futterman, Matthew (13 October 2019). "Kenya's Brigid Kosgei Breaks Marathon World Record". The New York Times. p. D6. ISSN 0362-4331.
  3. ^ a b Karoney, Celestone (20 October 2019). "Kenya's Brigid Kosgei: School dropout, mother of twins and world record-holder". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  4. ^ Henderson, Jason (18 February 2023). "Senayet Getachew sprints to under-20 women's world cross title". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Kenya's Brigid Kosgei wins Chicago Marathon". Daily Nation. 7 October 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Chepchirchir breaks marathon course record in Lisbon". IAAF. 2 October 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  7. ^ Musso, Marisso (2 October 2017). "2017 Chicago Marathon Elite Runner: Brigid Kosgei". WMAQ-TV. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Brigid Kosgei Wins 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Women's Race". WMAQ-TV. 7 October 2018. Archived from the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "Mo Farah claims first marathon win in Chicago". BBC Sport. 7 October 2018. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Mo Farah wins record fifth Great North Run but misses out on personal best". The Guardian. 9 September 2018. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  11. ^ Strout, Erin (7 October 2018). "Big Move Pays Off for 2018 Chicago Marathon Champion Brigid Kosgei". Runner's World. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  12. ^ Rotich, Bernard (28 January 2018). "Fast-rising Kosgei, Kipchirchir claim Discover cross-country titles". Daily Nation. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Brigid Kosgei wins Kalya Half Marathon". Daily Nation. 8 December 2018. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  14. ^ Fetha, Buckley (10 December 2018). "Brigid Kosgei crowned Kalya Half Marathon Champion". Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  15. ^ "London Marathon: Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei win men and women's elite races". The Guardian. 28 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  16. ^ "Great North Run: Mo Farah wins record sixth straight title". bbc.co.uk. 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Leichtathletik – Chicago-Marathon: Brigid Kosgei stellt Weltrekord auf". www.ran.de (in German). 13 October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  18. ^ "London Marathon 2020: Women's world record holder Brigid Kosgei to defend title". BBC Sport. 13 January 2020. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  19. ^ Ingle, Sean (13 October 2019). "I can go quicker, says Brigid Kosgei after smashing Paula Radcliffe's world record". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  20. ^ Lawton, Matt (15 January 2020). "Nike's record-breaking running shoe to be banned". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Early celebration proves costly in San Silvestre de Sao Paulo race". NBC Sports. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Ababel Yeshaneh wears Nike Vaporfly shoes to smash half-marathon record". BBC Sport. 21 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  23. ^ a b Dutch, Taylor (21 February 2020). "Ababel Yeshaneh Breaks Half Marathon World Record in Ras Al Khaimah". Runners World. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  24. ^ "London Marathon 2020: Eliud Kipchoge beaten as Shura Kitata takes title". BBC Sport. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  25. ^ a b "Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei on Kenya's Olympic marathon team". Athletics Weekly. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  26. ^ Ayodi, Ayumbu (31 January 2020). "Kipchoge, Kosgei to lead Kenya's Olympic marathon team". Daily Nation. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  27. ^ "Athletics Kenya names Olympic marathon team". Running Magazine. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Athletics - Final Results". Olympics.com. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  29. ^ "London Marathon 2021: Jepkosgei and Lemma win London Marathon titles in rapid times". BBC Sport. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei Win Tokyo Marathon". Runner's World. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Brigid Kosgei Breaks Course Record In Abu Dhabi With Eyes On Second Olympics". 16 December 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2024.

External links

Records Preceded by Paula Radcliffe Women's Marathon World Record Holder 13 October 2019 – 24 September 2023 Succeeded by Tigst Assefa
More
Chicago Marathon – women's winners
London Marathon – women's winners
Honolulu Marathon – women's winners
Tokyo Marathon – women's winners
Fastest performance of the year in women's marathon
Authority control databases: People
Categories