Helen Obiri, born Hellen Onsando Obiri is a Kenyan and specializes in running middle and long distances. The Kenyan-born athlete is the only athlete who has managed to secure world championships in indoor track, outdoor track, and cross country.
Obiri achieved the second position and won silver medals twice in the 5000-meter event at both the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Additionally, she secured fourth place in the 10,000-meter event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Helen Obiri early life
Born and raised in Kisii, a town in southwest Kenya, Hellen Obiri grew up as the fourth child in a family with a total of six children. When she was 14 years old, she was chosen to join Riruta Central Secondary School in Nairobi as a sprinter for the 200 and 400-meter races.
Nevertheless, her enthusiasm for the sport waned, leading her to completely abandon running in 2006 and 2007 in order to prioritize her studies. She took up athletics again solely for the purpose of enlistment in the military.
Obiri completed her training at the Kenya Defence Forces Recruit Training School in Eldoret in 2009. She participated in her inaugural significant race at the 2010 Kenya Armed Forces Cross Country Championships, achieving a 32nd-place finish.
After undergoing some training the following year, she finished in fifth place. She serves as a personnel in the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF).
Helen Obiri Career
Hellen Obiri made her international debut in the 2011 Military World Games held in Rio de Janeiro. During the competition, she secured a bronze medal in the 800-meter event and achieved a fourth-place finish in the 1500-meter race.
The next month after that, she made her first appearance at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, participating in the same event. In the preliminaries, Obiri achieved her fastest time ever, clocking in at 4:07.59.
However, during the final race, she stumbled and unintentionally caused Morgan Uceny, the expected winner of the event, to fall as well. As a result, Obiri finished in 10th place. After Daegu, she returned to Kenya and committed herself to rigorous training,’ and later explained what had happened.
At the age of 22 in 2012, Obiri achieved her initial international victory at the Istanbul World Indoor Championships by completing the 3000-meter race in a time of 8:37.16. The same year Helen lost the London marathon finishing 12th and last in the 1500m final.