Kenya: Olympic Champ Peres Jepchirchir to Make New York City Marathon Debut

Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir will make her maiden appearance at the New York City Marathon on November 7 this year.

It will also be the first time Jepchirchir, who is a two-time world half marathon champion, is making an entry to the big league of the World Marathon Majors.

Others who will make their debuts in New York are Olympic silver medallist Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, and four-time Olympic medallist Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.

Last year, Jepchirchir joined the legendary trio of Tegla Loroupe, Paula Radcliffe and Lornah Kiplagat as the only women to win more than one half marathon world title with her exploits in 2016 Cardiff and 2020 Gdynia.

Her personal-best marathon time of 2:17:16 from 2020 Valencia is the fastest of any woman in the New York City Marathon open division.

“2021 has already been a magical year, and I am excited that it is not yet over,” said Jepchirchir in a statement released by the race organisers on Thursday. “I am happy about competing in the New York City Marathon.

Jepchirchir noted that the excitement in Kenya around her performance in the Olympic Games has been very high.

“I know that a victory in New York will mean so much to the people of Kenya. The 50th year of something is often called its ‘golden anniversary,’ so how fitting it will be that for New York City’s 50th running I will run as the Olympic gold medallist,” noted Jepchirchir.

Jepchirchir will be up against Namibia’s four-time Olympian and 2019 World Championships bronze medalist Helalia Johannes, who was 11th in the Tokyo Olympic Marathon, and Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga, who won the Tokyo Marathon and finished third at the New York City Marathon in 2019.

Ethiopia’s mixed-gender world-record holder and the 2019 Chicago Marathon runner-up Ababel Yeshaneh and Kenya’s Nancy Kiprop, the fourth place-finisher at the event in 2019, will also toe the line alongside compatriot Viola Cheptoo, the sister of five-time Olympian Bernard Lagat. Cheptoo will be making her New York debut.

Also in the field are Tokyo Olympic marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel, Aliphine Tuliamuk, who failed to finish her race at Tokyo Olympic marathon and 2012 Olympic 10,000m silver medalist Sally Kipyego.