Helen Obiri makes history by winning New York City Marathon, becomes first woman since 1989 to attain major feat

In a packed New York Marathon with over 50,000 participants, Kenyan Helen Obiri raced to the win in the women's division. Not only does this win mark a major milestone in Obiri's career, but it also makes her the first woman since Ingrid Kristiansen in 1989 to win the Boston and New York Marathon in the same year.

The professional women's field at the NY Marathon featured only 16 runners this time around, but competition stayed intense. 11 of the 16 were still in the running for first place with 20 miles of the race completed, but the group was cut down to 5 when there was a little less than 2 miles to go.

The drama began towards the end of the race, with Helen Obiri and Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey fighting tooth and nail for the gold. In the end, Obiri managed to dig deep and come up with a final burst of energy which propelled her to victory. She clocked a 2:27.23 for the 26.2 mile course, which was just 6 seconds ahead of Gidey.

Gold-medalist of the 2022 New York Marathon Sharon Lokedi claimed bronze in the event with a time of 2:27:33.

Helen Obiri adds New York Marathon win to storied career

Helen Obiri has had a decorated career ever since she entered the international scene in 2011. Just a year later, the then-22 year old won her first major title, striking gold at the Istanbul World Championships in the 3000m event. She claimed the silver a year later in the same event, falling short against multiple world record-holder Genzebe Dibaba.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Helen Obiri raced to a silver, finishing behind compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot. A year later, she won gold in the 5000m event at the London World Championships.

2019 was another big year for the Kenyan runner. In March, she won the senior women's race at the World Cross Country Championships in Denmark. This made Obiri the only woman to have world championship golds in indoor track, outdoor track, and cross country. She topped her 2019 off with another World Championship victory, racing to the top of the podium in Doha for the 5000m event.

Tokyo 2020 saw Helen Obiri make a repeat appearance on the podium, with another silver in the 5000m.

After a relatively quiet two years, Obiri is now back and better than ever, having claimed wins this year in the New York City Half Marathon, the Boston Marathon, and New York Marathon.