 Obiri after her win at the Golden Gala meet in Rome in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Hellen Onsando Obiri |
| Born | 13 December 1989 Kisii, Kenya |
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 50 kg (110 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Middle-, Long-distance running |
| Team | On Athletics Club |
| Coached by | Dathan Ritzenhein (2022–) Ricky Simms (–2022) |
Medal record | |
Hellen Onsando Obiri (born 13 December 1989)[1] is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. She is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country. Obiri is a two-time Olympic 5,000 metres silver medallist from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also placed fourth over the 10,000 metres. She is a two-time world champion after winning the 5,000 m in 2017 and again in 2019, when she set a new championship record. Obiri also took world bronze for the 1,500 metres in 2013 and silver in the 10,000 m in 2022. She won the 3,000 metres race at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, claimed silver in 2014, and placed fourth in 2018. She is the 2019 World Cross Country champion. Obiri triumphed in the 2023 Boston Marathon, her second marathon race. She places fifth in the half marathon on the world all-time list.[2]
She won a bronze medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics in the Women's marathon.
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 9 June 2023.
Obiri was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2017.[3]
- ^ "Hellen OBIRI – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ Whittington, Jess (27 March 2022). "Obiri and Kwemoi claim half marathon crowns in Istanbul". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ fadamana (7 December 2017). "100 Most Influential Africans: Ten Kenyans Including CJ David Maraga Listed". Answers Africa. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.