Strong women's field announced for the 2023 New York City Marathon

© New York City Marathon

ATHLETICS Strong women's field announced for the 2023 New York City Marathon

Abigael Wafula 08:30 - 10.08.2023

Lokedi returns as the defending champion and she will only be competing in her second marathon ever.

Defending TCS New York City Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi, reigning Boston Marathon and New York City Half Marathon champion Hellen Obiri, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir, and marathon world-record holder Brigid Kosgei will headline the women’s professional athlete field at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 5.

It will be the first time in history when the reigning TCS New York City Marathon champion, Boston Marathon champion, Olympic champion, and world-record holder line up against each other in the TCS New York City Marathon.

Lokedi returns as the defending champion and she will only be competing in her second marathon ever. Debuting at last year’s New York City Marathon, Lokedi was over the moon to have won the race and she will definitely be looking for a repeat of the same this year.

She intended to open her season at the Boston Marathon earlier this year but unfortunately pulled out because of an injury but she has since confirmed that she is doing well and preparing for her title defense.

In preparation for the marathon, Lokedi had raced the New York City Half Marathon and the Mastercard New York Mini 10K, finishing fourth and second, respectively, in those races.

Obiri, a two-time World 5000m champion, will be competing in her third marathon when she heads to the streets of New York.

She made her full marathon debut in the streets of New York where she finished sixth and she will be looking for a comeback when she lines up for the event. She goes into the race psyched up since she won the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

On her part, Jepchirchir is the only athlete to have won the Olympic Marathon, TCS New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon.

Jepchirchir will be competing in her second marathon this season when she heads to New York, her favourite course, where she ran a tactical race to clinch the title in 2021. She opened her season at the London Marathon where she finished an impressive third.

She failed to defend her title last year due to an injury and when she returns this year, she has targets on the crown.

Kosgei is the world record holder in the marathon and has won an Olympic silver medal and five Abbott World Marathon Majors races and she will now make her TCS New York City Marathon debut.

In 2019, Kosgei broke Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old world record by 81 seconds, running 2:14:04 to win the Chicago Marathon. It was her second Chicago Marathon victory, as she had also won in 2018. Additionally, she won back-to-back London Marathons in 2019 and 2020, the Tokyo Marathon in 2022, and the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic marathon.