Paris Oympics: Obiri bags bronze in tough women's marathon
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 11.08.24. | 11:04
Sharon Lokedi finished fourth while holder Peres Jepchirchir finished in the 15th position.
Kenya's Hellen Obiri won the bronze medal in the women's marathon in Paris on Sunday morning with a time of 2:23:10.
The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan won the race with an Olympic record time of 2:22:55, while Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa took the silver.
Kenya's Sharon Lokedi finished fourth, clocking a personal best of 2:23:14, while defending champion Peres Jepchirchir struggled after the 30 km mark and, a few kilometers later, lost touch with the leading group. Despite this, she managed to finish the race, coming in 15th place with a time of 2:26:51.
The 34-year-old Obiri, making her Olympic marathon debut in Paris, twice dropped out of the leading pack. Despite her best effort, she couldn't wrestle with Hassan, who tactically stayed behind the leading pack throughout the race before unleashing her final kick to beat the record holder to the gold medal.
The race began with a strong start, featuring ex-Kenyan runner Eunice Chumba, now representing Bahrain, along with Jepchirchir and Uganda's Stella Chesang leading the pack.
By the 15km mark, the group had narrowed down to 14 runners, including Kenya's trio of Obiri, Jepchirchir, and Sharon Lokedi, as the challenging terrain began to take its toll. Ethiopia's Megertu Alemu and Assefa were also in the mix, with Hassan trailing just behind.
At the 20km split, Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter took the lead, clocking in at 1:09:31. The Kenyan trio remained close, with Obiri leading their contingent. However, at the 27km mark, Kenya faced a scare when Obiri briefly dropped off the pace but quickly recovered and rejoined the lead group.
By 30 kilometers, Lokedi had taken charge, with Jepchirchir and Obiri still in the pack. After passing the 30km mark, Jepchirchir began to fade, struggling to keep up with the leaders. Obiri once again dropped at the 36KM mark but managed to recover and rejoined the leading pack moments later.
In the final kilometer, Obiri, Lokedi, Hassan, and Assefa were running shoulder to shoulder. However, Lokedi soon fell behind, followed by Obiri, leaving Hassan and Assefa to battle it out in the last 500 meters, where the Dutchwoman ultimately claimed victory.
