Athletics Kenya announced today their selections for the marathon to compete at the Paris Olympics this summer.
Last month, they announced the preliminary field from which the team would be selected, comprising of six women and five men, however the squad has now been reduced to the three women and three men to don the Kenya national kit, staying within Olympic Games limits.
The athletes representing Team Kenya are:
WOMEN
- Brigid Kosgei (Nike), 2:14:04 (Chicago, 2019)
- Hellen Obiri (On Athletics Club), 2:21:38 (Boston, 2023)
- Peres Jepchirchir (adidas), 2:17:16 (Valencia, 2020)
MEN
- Eliud Kipchoge (Nike/NN Running Team), 2:01:09 (Berlin, 2022)
- Benson Kipruto (adidas), 2:02:16 (Tokyo, 2024)
- Alexander Mutiso Munyao (adidas), 2:03:11 (Valencia, 2023)
Sharon Lokedi and Timothy Kiplagat will serve in the reserve position should one of the three noted above not be able to compete in Paris.
Both Jepchirchir and Kipchoge are the reigning Olympic champions, and Kosgei was the Tokyo 2020 silver medalist. Both Kipchoge and Kosgei are former world record holders. Kipchoge also won the 2016 Olympic Marathon, and in Paris he has a chance to become the first man in history to win three consecutive Olympic Marathons.
Notably absent from the list is Evans Chebet, the 2022 and 2023 Boston Marathon champion who also won the TCS New York City Marathon in 2022.
Athletics Kenya does not use a trials race to determine the team (like the United States); the team selection process is ultimately political and opaque. There are no fixed team selection criteria outside of making the Paris 2024 entry standards of 2:08:10 (men) and 2:26:50 (women).
WATCH: Kipchoge wins marathon gold again | Tokyo Replays
WATCH: Women’s Marathon Final | Tokyo Replays
