She holds some of the most prestigious titles that any distance runner would dream of.
However, Peres Jepchirchir misses one coveted crown in her overflowing trophy cabinet—a world marathon title.
The 31-year-old from Kapsabet, Nandi County, gave the country its second women’s Olympic title at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games that were moved to 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jepchirchir had claimed a hat-trick of World Half Marathon titles during the 2016 Cardiff, Wales, 2020 Gdynia, Poland and 2023 Riga, Latvia editions. Her cabinet is also decorated with World Marathon Majors (WMM) accolades from the 2021 New York City Marathon, 2022 Boston Marathon and 2024 London Marathon victories.
She now has an opportunity to include the world marathon title in her collection during the women’s marathon final in Tokyo on Sunday. The championship starts on Saturday and will run for nine days in the Japanese capital.
It will be the first time Jepchirchir will be competing at the World Athletics Championships after a last-minute hip injury ruined her debut at the 2022 championships in Oregon, United States of America.
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
Jepchirchir, who also withdrew from defending her London Marathon title in April after suffering an ankle injury just two weeks before the event, declared she is healthy and ready for Tokyo.
Ruth Chepng’etich is the last Kenyan to win the women’s world marathon in 2019 in Doha, Qatar.
Jepchirchir noted that Japan is where her international marathon career started, and on a good note, with victory at Saitama International Marathon in a time of 2:23:50, before her Olympic marathon win in 2021 in 2:27:20.
“It feels great to return healthy and stronger for my first world championships. I hope Japan will be nice to me again after my marathon debut victory in Saitama and the 2021 Olympics ... they say God’s time is the best,” said Jepchirchir, who has a personal best of 2:16:16 from London last year.
She is looking to become the first Kenyan to win both Olympic and world marathons after Catherine “The Great” Ndereba missed out on two occasions. Ndereba won the world titles in 2003 Paris and 2005 Osaka, only to settle for silver medals at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“Injuries are the biggest nightmare to an athlete, but I have been patient and working hard to maintain good shape,” said Jepchichir, who will team up with 2025 Rotterdam Marathon champion Jackline Cherono and Magdalyne Masai, who finished fourth in the Tokyo Marathon in May this year.
The Kenyans face a strong challenge, especially from the Ethiopian team, which has former World record holder Tigst Assefa, Berlin Marathon champion Tigist Ketema and Chicago Marathon silver medallist Sutume Asefa Kebede.
Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir celebrates after winning the women's marathon final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Sapporo on August 7, 2021.
Photo credit: File | AFP
The Ethiopians have dominated the race, winning the last two editions of the world championships. Gotytom Gebreslase won in 2022 in Oregon in a championship record time of 2:18:11 as Kenya’s Judith Korir finished second with a personal best of 2:18:20. Amane Beriso would ensure the title remained in Ethiopia in 2023 in Budapest with a 1-2 finish as Gotytom Gebreslase settled for silver.
The Kenyans missed the podium finish for the first time since 2009 Berlin as Rosemary Wanjiru and Sally Chepyego finished in sixth and seventh positions, respectively.
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
Other top contenders are former Kenyans Lorna Salpeter of Israel and Eunice Chumba of Bahrain. Salpeter won bronze in 2022 Oregon while Chumba will be eyeing to emulate Rose Chelimo, who won gold for Bahrain in 2017 London.
“I believe in teamwork and we have a strong team. Let Kenyans pray for us since we have really worked hard in training,” said Jepchirchir.
Masai, the younger sister of the 2009 world 10000m champion Linet Masai, also believes in teamwork to deliver good results.
“My training went on well and I am looking forward to a good race on Sunday,” she said. “We are banking on teamwork for good results.”
Masai won Lanzhou, besides securing second-place finishes at Frankfurt and Sevilla Marathons last year.
The championships in Tokyo have attracted more than 2,000 athletes from 200 countries and territories.
