Hellen Obiri Headlines Kenya’s Women’s Star Studded Marathon Team for 2024 Paris Olympics

• Kenya has named a star-studded women's marathon team for the 2024 Olympics
• Defending champion Peres Jepchirchir and Hellen Obiri will spearhead the team
• The East African nation has won the last two Olympic gold medals in the marathon

Two-time Olympic silver medalist, Hellen Obiri, and defending champion, Peres Jepchirchir, will lead Kenya's women's team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Kenya are looking to win a third consecutive Olympic gold in the women's marathon for the first time.

Other athletes named in the team include former world record holder Brigid Kosgei, Sharon Lokedi, Rosemary Wanjiru, and Ruth Chepngetich, per Team Kenya.

Obiri will be looking for her first Olympic gold medal after two silvers. She heads into 2024 after winning the 2023 Boston and New York City Marathons.

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Jepchirchir won gold in the women's marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is looking to defend her title. Lokedi won the 2022 New York City Marathon.

Kosgei brings experience to the team. She took silver behind Jepchirchir in Tokyo and has won five marathon majors. Wanjiru won the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. Chepngetich is the 2019 world champion and two-time Chicago Marathon champion.

The team will be trimmed to three before they head to Paris.

Closer look at Team Kenya

Obiri is one of the favourites to win gold in the marathon. She has participated in the last three Olympic games but has yet to win a gold medal.

She took silver in the women's 5,000m at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, but a gold medal is a possibility after winning the 2023 Boston and New York City Marathons. She has a marathon personal best of 2:25:49.

Kosgei is hoping to upgrade her silver in Tokyo to a gold medal. Kosgei is the most experienced on the team, with at least 10 marathon majors under her belt. Ethiopia's Tigist Assefa shattered her world record (2:14:04) in last year's Berlin Marathon.

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Lokedi has a personal best of 2:23:23 in the marathon, she set at the 2022 New York City Marathon.

Wanjiru finished 4th and 6th in the women's marathon at the 2019 and 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Chepngetich won the world marathon title in 2019 and has finished in the top three in four major marathons.

Kenya won the last two gold medals in the Olympic women's marathon. Can they make it a hat-trick?

Kenyan women with Olympic gold medals

Sports Brief earlier reported on Kenyan women who have won gold medals at the Olympic Games.

Pamela Jelimo (800m) was the first one at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Nancy Langat also won gold in China. A total of six women have won gold at the Olympics for the East African nation.