Obiri is the former Kenyan national record holder for the mile and the 5000 metres. Both those records were only recently broken by Faith Kipyegon on her way to setting the current mile World Record of 4:07.64 set in Monaco on 21 July 2023. Kipyegon is also the national 5000 metre record holder, by reason of being the immediate former 5000 metre World Record holder with a time of 14:05.20 set in Paris France on June 9 2023.
Obiri was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2017.[3]
Early life and background
Hailing from Kisii in south-western Kenya, Obiri was the fourth child in a family of six children. At age 14, she was recruited as a 200 and 400 metressprinter to attend Riruta Central Secondary School in Nairobi. However, she lost interest in the sport and stopped running altogether in 2006 and 2007 to focus on her studies. She only re-engaged with athletics to join the military. In 2009, Obiri graduated from Kenya Defence Forces Recruit Training School in Eldoret. Her first major race was at the 2010 Kenya Armed Forces Cross Country Championships, where she finished 32nd. She placed fifth after some training the following year. She is a member of the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF).[4]
She is married to Tom Nyaundi, a former runner, and they have a daughter, Tania 'Blessing' Macheche, born in May 2015 through caesarean section. Obiri resumed racing within seven months.[5]
Career
Hellen Obiri gained her first international experience at the 2011 Military World Games in Rio de Janeiro, where she won the bronze medal for the 800 metres and placed fourth in the 1500 metres. She debuted in the World Championships in Athletics held in 2011 in Daegu, South Korea the following month, competing at the latter distance. Obiri set a personal best time of 4:07.59 in the heats but fell in the final, bringing pre-event favourite Morgan Uceny down with her, and finished 10th.[1] She later said, "After Daegu I went back to Kenya and started training seriously."[4]
In 2012, the 22-year-old took her first global title at the Istanbul World Indoor Championships, clocking 8:37.16 over the 3000 metres. This became the turning point of her career. That same year, she debuted in the Olympics at the London Games, finishing initially 12th and last in the 1500 m final, upgraded to eighth after subsequent doping disqualifications.
Obiri represented Kenya at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in both the women's 5000 m and 10,000 m events.[11] She won the silver medal at the former in a time of 14:38.36, finishing behind only Hassan who ran 14:36.79; Gudaf Tsegay took bronze in 14:38.87.[12] Obiri placed fourth in the 10,000 m final in a personal best behind, 1–3, Hassan, Kalkidan Gezahegne and Letesenbet Gidey.[13]
Obiri got her 2023 campaign off to strong start. In February, she won the RAK Half and then the New York City Half Marathon in March. On 17 April, the 33-year-old ran her second marathon, competing in the Boston Marathon against the deepest elite women’s field ever assembled. She won with a personal best time of 2:21:38, 12 seconds clear of second-place finisher Amane Beriso who had by far the fastest personal best heading into the race (2:14:58).[17][18] Obiri went on to win the 2023 New York City Marathon in a time of 2:25:49.[19]
