Sharon Lokedi's first race since defending Boston Marathon title announced

Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi will line up at the Rimi Riga Half Marathon on Sunday, 17 May, making it her first competitive appearance since winning defending her Boston Marathon crown last month.

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Lokedi, 32, is among a list of top class athletes, who will battle it out in the streets of Latvia, even as the event looks to break in into the one of Europe’s most desirable running destinations.

Lokedi, who won her second Boston Marathon title in a time of 2:18.51, will come up against serious competition, spearheaded by defending champion Domenika Mayer, who triumphed last year clocking 1:09.50.

The duo will also be joined by Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye, who boasts an impressive personal best of 1:04.14 in the half marathon,as well as a bronze medal won in Riga at the 2023 World Championships in the 5 km distance.

Lokedi, a debutant on the course, will be running her second half marathon race this year, having finished second at the New York Half Marathon in March, clocking 1:07.10.

Her personal best in the distance is the 1:05.00 she ran in finishing second at the Copenhagen Half Marathon in September last year.

In terms of victories, the last time she triumphed in the half marathon was in May 2025, when she won the New York Half Marathon in a time of 1:07.04.

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Also among the top six runners at this year’s event will be Uganda’s Stella Chesang, who holds a personal best time of 1:07.59 from 2024, and the Ethiopian duo of Diniya Abaraya and Bertukan Welde.

Elsewhere in the men’s competition, Kenya will be represented by three leading runners, including: James Kipkosgei, Charles Mbatha, and Robert Kiprop Koech.

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The trio’s challenge will come from leading athlete and Tanzanian national record holder for the marathon, Gabriel Geay, whose personal best in the half marathon us 59:18.

Kipkosgei, who was second at this year’s Rome Half Marathon in March, is second-fastest in the list, with a personal best of 59:31.

Other athletes who will be contending for the win include the Ethiopian duo of Aklilu Gebremariam Asfaw, and Dejene Hailu Bikila.