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Kericho County erupted in celebrations on Sunday as local athlete Sheila Chepkirui clinched the TCS New York City Marathon women’s title, marking her first Abbott World Marathon Majors victory.

Fans, athletes and coaches gathered at Kericho Tea Hotel for a watch party, cheering on Chepkirui’s triumph and the historic Kenyan sweep of the women’s podium.

In a landmark feat, Chepkirui finished in 2:24:35, with compatriots Hellen Obiri and Vivian Cheruiyot securing second and third places in 2:24:49 and 2:25:21, respectively.

This marked the first time since 1978 that a single country has claimed the top three spots in the women’s division of the New York City Marathon.

“Winning today means a lot to me. It means my training has been well, and I’m really happy with the win,” remarked Chepkirui, who trains in her home county of Kericho.

The marathon also saw historic moments in the men’s division, as Abdi Nageeye became the first Dutch runner to claim the men’s title, finishing in 2:07:39.

He outpaced Kenya’s Evans Chebet and Albert Korir, the 2022 and 2021 champions, who took second and third places with times of 2:07:45 and 2:08:00, respectively.

Nageeye described the victory as redemption after a disappointing Olympics performance, noting, “I feel really happy with [the race] because I didn’t perform [well] in the Olympics, and that really was one of my biggest disappointments ever,” adding, “So I went back to training, and I told myself, you will never get it back…You can only do one thing: in less than two months you can do something great at the greatest marathon in the world, so focus on that.”

The United States had a successful showing in the wheelchair division, with Daniel Romanchuk and Susannah Scaroni leading an American sweep in a marathon first.

At the Kericho viewing event, Athletics Kenya’s (AK) Kericho sub-branch chairman, Japheth Kemei, who once coached Chepkirui in her early years, expressed pride in her accomplishment.

“Sheila was in my camp as a primary school girl and I coached her all the way before she joined the Kenya Defence Forces. I’m really proud of her winning the New York City Marathon as this motivates other young athletes in the South Rift,” he stated.