Peres Jepchirchir came in first place during the 2022 Boston Marathon on Monday April 18. The 28-year-old runner won the women’s division crossed the finish line in, after one of the most exciting years of her career. She joined male winner Daniel Romanchuk as the first place victor for the race. Find out everything you need to know about Peres here!
1. Peres is Kenyan
While the male winner of the marathon was born in the U.S., Peres was originally born and raised in Kenya. Peres beat Ethiopian runner Ababel Yeshaneh, who came in second place. The third place runner Mary Ngugi is also from Kenya, per The New York Times.
2. She finished the Boston Marathon in 2 hours & 21 minutes
At the end of the race, Peres finished with a final time of 2 hours, 21 minutes, and 2 seconds. She seemed incredibly happy with her first place results and feels even more motivated. “I’m feeling great, I’m so happy,” she said, according to the Times. “I’m fulfilling my dreams, I’m feeling grateful and I’m still motivating myself. I can do more.”
3. She won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
The Boston Marathon is only Peres’ most recent win. She had one of her biggest victories to date at the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, via World Athletics. Her gold medal race came in no other event than the marathon! She finished that race with an end time of 2:27:20.
4. She also won the 2021 New York Marathon
The Boston Marathon isn’t the only major race that Peres has won. She ran her first marathon in London in 2015, but didn’t finish, according to the Association of Road Running Statistics. Since then though, she’s competed and won in a number of marathons. She raced in the 2020 Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso in Pain and came in first. In November 2021, she came in first in the New York Marathon, becoming the first person to win both the NYC race and the Olympic gold medal in the same year.
5. She’s been competing in international competitions since 2016
While her marathon victories have been recent, Peres has been competing in the international circuit for the past six years. Before breaking in to marathons, her primary event was the half marathon, which she’s won championships in in 2016 and 2020. She’s also the current world record holder for the half marathon. Her best time in the half marathon was in the Ras Al Khaimah International Half Marathon in February 2017, where she ran 1:05:06, per World Athletics.