Top Kenyan athletes to look out for in 2023 with World Championships and road races on the cards

It feels right to take a look at our athletes as a group and pick a few to keep an eye on over the next 12 months. However, if our athletes are to be competitive, they must train all year.

Though many athletes in Kenya have special talents, one of the reasons a few athletes have a chance for special results this year is either because of how motivated they are because places at the next level are calling their names, or simply because they can do things others cannot. Their talent and hard work have resulted in exceptional results. Here are some athletes who have positioned themselves for those results in 2023:

Eliud Kipchoge - Marathon

The 38-year-old two-time Olympic Champion has now shifted focus to winning the Boston Marathon. Kipchoge already bagged six World Marathon Majors, and he will be keen to sparkle yet again this year with his fifth WMN title. Kipchoge’s hard work and self-belief are some of the reasons that goal is achievable. 

“I will be running the Boston Marathon. There are no other bigger plans this year. I need to win Boston.” Kipchoge was quoted saying.

What sets him apart is he understands what lies ahead, having won the Tokyo Marathon with a new course record of 2:02:40 on March 6. Kipchoge would then stage a comeback to the scene of his 2:01:39 world record in 2018 on 25 September, and challenged his own best time by a staggering 30 seconds.

With less than three months to the Boston Marathon, Kipchoge’s performance will most likely define his next move, including his plans to run the Olympic Marathon in Paris, France in 2024.

Ferdinand Omanyala – 100m

26-year-old Omanyala will be hoping to put a statement across this year. The whizz kid secured multiple victories in 2022, hitting headlines as the first man to finish the men's 100 meters at the World Athletics Continental Tour in May 2022.

He won first place in the 100m again in June after a photo finish at the African Athletic Championships. Omanyala humbled former African Champion Akani Simbine to make history as the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in the 100m in 60 years at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Geoffrey Kamworor, Cross Country, Track and Marathon

Training in Kaptagat alongside Kipchoge is one of the building blocks of the 29-year-old Kenyan distance running star into the athlete he is: A two-time winner of the New York Marathon, a three-time world half marathon champion, and a two-time World Cross-Country champion.

Kamworor fractured his tibia in a motorcycle accident in June 2020. He later suffered a stress fracture but made the Kenyan team for the World Cross Country Championships, which will be held on February 18, 2023, in Bathurst, Australia. He came in sixth place at the National Cross-Country Trials in Ruiru.

Emmanuel Korir – 800m

At 27 years old, Korir, who attended Kimuron Secondary School in Elgeyo Marakwet before flying to the United States for academic pursuits, has proven to be the ideal replacement for 800m world record holder David Rudisha over the past two years.

Korir won the 800m title at the World Championships in Oregon last year with a textbook tactical race. The world will be watching his every move as he defends his world title in Budapest.

Evans Chebet – Marathon

The reigning Boston Marathon Champion now also holds the title of New York City Marathon Champion. He will run in the Boston Marathon for the second time. Is he capable of beating two-time world record holder Eliud Kipchoge? The 33-year-old was also named the winner of the 2019 Berlin Marathon and the 2020 Valencia Marathon.

Kelvin Kiptum – Marathon

He made his marathon debut with a bang, winning in 2:01:53, the fastest 42km debut time and the third fastest time in the world. The world will be watching to see if Kiptum, 23, was a one-hit wonder or if he was a consistent athlete who rose to stardom gradually. Kiptum's marathon personal best is just 44 seconds slower than Kipchoge's world record.

Women

Faith Chepng’etich Kipyegon – 1500m

Since 2015, the 28-year-old has won gold and silver in every major championship 1500m, and her success in July 2022 saw her reclaim the title she first won in 2017. In that event, no other woman has ever won four medals. She finished the year on a high note, winning her third Diamond League title in Zurich. Kipyegon's world-leading time in 2022 was four seconds faster than multiple global medalists Tsegay 3:54:17.

In 2023, the double Olympic champion hopes to extend her reign in the 1500m. If she makes the Kenyan team, she will compete for her third world title at the Budapest World Championships in Hungary this year.

Mercy Cherono - Road and 5,000m

Following a series of injuries that made her lay low, the 2014 Commonwealth Games 5,000m champion announced her return to competition. Her most recent victory was in the Corrida Pedestre Internationale de Houilles 10km Road Race in Houilles, France, in December 2022.

Cherono led from start to finish to win the 49th edition of the French race. She also finished third in the 34:39:2 National Police Service Cross Country Championships in Ngong.

Hellen Obiri

Senior Sergeant Hellen Obiri, a two-time 5000 meters champion, defended her 10 kilometers women's race victory during the 42nd edition of the KDF Cross Country Championships. Obiri, a two-time world 5000m champion, ran the 10th-fastest women's half-marathon ever in the Istanbul Half Marathon last March, clocking 1:04:48. She announced her transition to road running with that victory, and she did so in style.

Later that month, she defeated Peres Jepchirchir and Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia to successfully defend her title at the Great North Run. In November, she finished sixth in her first 42km race, the New York City Marathon. The world is watching Obiri's moves in road running this year.

Peres Jepchirchir - Marathon

The Olympic champion is looking forward to another successful 2023 Boston Marathon after basking in glory at the 2022 Boston Marathon. Jepchirchir, 29, missed the 2022 World Athletics Championships due to a hip injury, but she will have another chance to win a world title in August.

Jepchirchir will be among the women marathoners whose participation will be closely watched this year due to her previous stunning performances, regardless of which race her manager chooses. In a time of 2:27.20, Jepchirchir won the Olympic gold medal in 2020. With a time of 2:22:39, she became the first athlete to win both the Olympic gold medal and the New York City Marathon in the same year. She finished the 2022 Boston Marathon at 2:21:02.

Vivian Cheruiyot

The four-time world champion in the 5000 and 10,000 meters announced her return to competitions following a two-year maternity break.

Vivian returned with a bang after giving birth to her first child, winning the 10,000-meter gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing. She hopes to shine again this time around.

Key global events

World Cross Country championships – February 18, 2023, in Bathurst, Australia

World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships – March 25, Torun (Poland)

Africa U18/U20 Championships – April 19-23, Lusaka (Zambia)

World Athletics Relays – May 13-14, Aoti Main Stadium, Guangzhou (China)

Commonwealth Youth Games – August 4-11, Port-of-Spain (Trinidad and Tobago)

African Games – August 5-8, Accra 2023, Accra (Ghana)

World Athletics Championships – August 19-27, Budapest 2023 Budapest (Hungary)