Reigning world marathon champion, Peres Jepchirchir, reckons a two-month break occasioned by a foot injury in April this year made her return to competition hungry for success, catapulting her to win gold at the 2026 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Upon returning from injury, Jepchirchir was named in Kenya’s marathon team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships held in Tokyo from September 13 – 21. Desperate to get back into competition after recovering from an ankle injury to the right foot, she honoured the invitation without hesitation. The injury had also made her skip 2025 London Marathon in April.
Jepchirchir also won the women’s marathon title at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but finished 14th in the 2024 Olympic Games held in Paris. She says she is always excited to represent Kenya on the global stage, and did not think twice when called upon.
Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir celebrates after winning the women's marathon final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 14, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
She suffered the injury two weeks to the 2025 London Marathon. While training, Jepchirchir stepped on a stone, and twisted her ankle. Her doctor advised her to take a two-month break to avoid worsening the injury. She painfully announced her withdrawal from the race and started her recovery journey.
“I took a two-month break after picking the injury. With a lot of effort, I recovered and resumed training again. It was a painful decision but one I had to accept, and follow the doctor’s advice,” Jepchirchir said in NTV’s Monday talk show SportOn hosted by Bernard Ndong and James Wokabi.
Kapsabet-based Jepchirchir had also been invited to compete in Berlin Marathon in September, but after discussing with her manager Gianni Demadonna, she opted to represent Kenya at the 2025 World Athletics Championships. That would prove to be her toughest race.
Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir crosses the finish line to win the women's marathon final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 14, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
“I ran against (Ethiopia’s) Tigst Assefa in London Marathon last year and although I won, I knew she was tough. At the world championships, everybody else faded off and only the two of us remained as the leading athletes. I had reserved some energy for the last part of the race, and it’s rare for me to lose hope because, if I have competed for more than two hours, why should I lose at the end?” Jepchirchir quipped.
Many athletes stay in training camps and have coaches who monitor them but not Jepchirchir. She doesn’t have a coach and, only uses a training programme which she religiously sticks to.
Kenya's Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir wins her third world half marathon title at the at the inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia on October 1, 2023.
Photo credit: Pool | World Athletics
“It was difficult for my manager to accept that I don’t need a coach. He once pointed out to me that as a marathoner, I would need a coach to guide me at some point but I told him that I was comfortable continuing to train alone,” she said.
He attributes her good performance in races to her husband Davies Ngeno whom has been very supportive whenever she is doing her long runs. Jepchirchir, 32, joined distance running by chance one day after joining a group of athletes in training at Kapsabet. She had been inspired to take up running by the performances of former New York Marathon champion Mary Keitany in the big city marathon races. Jepchirchir broke Keitany’s women-only marathon record at the 2024 London Marathon where she timed 2:16:16. That record has since been lowered by Assefa who timed 2:15:50 at the 2025 London Marathon.
Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir crosses the finish line to win the women's elite 42km race during the London Marathon on April 21,2024.
Photo credit: Matthew Childs | Reuters
“I plan to run all the seven World Major Marathon races. Having competed in London and Boston, I hope to compete in the remaining ones soon. This year I will run Valencia Marathon because I skipped London in April and I still feel strong,” the athlete, who holds three World Half marathon titles, said.
