Obiri Clinches Bronze in Thrilling Olympic Marathon Finale
Hellen Obiri added to her Olympic medal tally with a grueling marathon performance, showcasing remarkable resilience and endurance on a demanding course.
Paris, France, August 11, 2024 – In a historic moment for the Olympic Games, the women's marathon closed out the 2024 Paris Olympics for the first time, with Hellen Obiri of Kenya delivering a standout performance to claim the bronze medal.
Obiri, already a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 5000m, entered the marathon as one of the favorites, with the challenging course seemingly tailor-made for her strengths. The marathon route, notorious for its 436 meters of elevation gain and a punishing 13.5% incline between kilometers 15 and 20, has been dubbed the most demanding Olympic marathon course to date.
The race began with a jolt when Obiri suffered a minor fall just 3 kilometers in. However, showing her trademark composure and tenacity, she quickly rejoined the lead pack. As the runners approached the infamous “wall” at the 15km mark, Obiri briefly dropped back, only to surge forward again on the downhill sections, leveraging her strength and experience.
At the 35km mark, Obiri again fell behind as she secured her final personal fueling bottle. With renewed energy, she pushed herself back into the lead group and eventually took the lead heading into the final stretch. The last 5 kilometers saw a fierce battle between Obiri, Sifan Hassan, Peres Jepchirchir, Gotytom Gebreslase, and Tigist Assefa. Shankule dropped back around the 41km mark, and with less than 800 meters to go, Hassan launched a decisive sprint, with Assefa following closely behind. Despite her best efforts, Obiri couldn’t match their pace in the final meters and crossed the finish line in 2:23:10, securing a hard-fought bronze medal.
Reflecting on Obiri's performance, Andy Wheating, Athlete Manager at On, expressed immense pride:
“Hellen is the queen of our On Athletics Club Global team. A mother, a role model, and the heart of On’s marathon innovation. The pride we all feel is immense, we will be celebrating this one for a while. She a warrior with a spartan mentality, she’ll celebrate the moment with us but know… she’s not done.”
This bronze medal is Obiri’s third Olympic medal, adding to her two silver medals in the 5000m from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Her successful transition to the marathon and her performance on one of the most challenging Olympic courses ever underscore her remarkable versatility and determination as one of Kenya’s most accomplished distance runners.
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