Sheila Chepkirui Kiprotich (born 27 December 1990) is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner who competed earlier mainly in the 1500 metres and 5000 metres. She won the 2024 New York City Marathon and the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Chepkirui was the 5000 m 2016 African champion, setting the championship record.
 Chepkirui at the 2024 London Marathon | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sheila Chepkirui Kiprotich |
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Born | 27 December 1990 |
| Sport | |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event(s) | Middle-, Long-distance running |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests |
|
Medal record | |
As of September 2022, she placed fourth in the 10 km road race on the world all-time list.
Career
editIn her youth, Sheila Chepkirui competed in age category competitions. She defeated Yuriko Kobayashi over 1500 m at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics to claim her first international gold medal. Her finishing time of in a 4:12.29 minutes was a championship record.[1] She returned to defend her title two years later, but ended up as bronze medallist at the 2007 event.[2] She failed to improve at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics and did not get past the heats. She dropped out of the sport after that year.[3]
Chepkirui joined up with Kenya Defence Forces and began competing at their track competitions again around 2012.[4] She returned to top-level competition in late 2015. Good performances at national cross country running meets culminated in her finishing third at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships.[5][6][7] She was chosen for the 2016 African Cross Country Championships and in her senior debut she took the silver medal as part of a Kenyan podium sweep with Alice Aprot and Beatrice Mutai.[8] Later that year she won the 5000 m at the Kenyan Athletics Championships, and won her first senior title competing in the event at the 2016 African Championships in Athletics, setting a championship record of 15:05.45 minutes.[9][10]
In September 2022, she came close to the women-only 10 kilometres world record at the Brașov Running Festival in Brașov, Romania. With her time of 30:07 Chepkirui, who set her 29:46 personal best in a mixed race in Valencia in 2020, broke the Romanian all-comers's record by more than two minutes, and was only six seconds off the women-only world record.[11]
In November 2024, Chepkirui won the New York City Marathon's women's race, securing her first major marathon title with a time of 2:24:35.[12]
International competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | World Youth Championships | Marrakech, Morocco | 1st | 1500 m | 4:12.29 |
| 2007 | World Youth Championships | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 3rd | 1500 m | 4:19.26 |
| 2008 | World Junior Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 15th (h) | 1500 m | 4:24.21 |
| 2016 | African Cross Country Championships | Yaoundé, Cameroon | 2nd | Senior race | 30:44 |
| 1st | Senior team | 11 pts | |||
| African Championships | Durban, South Africa | 1st | 5000 m | 15:05.45 CR | |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 7th | 5000 m | 14:54.05 |
| 2022 | 2022 World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | – | 10,000 m | DNS |
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 3rd | 10,000 m | 31:09.46 |
National titles
edit- Kenyan Athletics Championships
- 5000 metres: 2016, 2019
References
edit- ^ Event Report - Girls' 1500 metres Final. IAAF (2005-07-15). Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Girls 1500m Final. IAAF (2007-07-13). Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Sheila Chepkirui Kiprotich. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Mutuota, Mutwiri (2012-05-12). Obiri polishes off opponents in Nairobi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Mills, Steven (2016-01-31). Karoki dominates proceedings in Eldoret – cross-country round-up. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Mills, Steven (2015-12-20). McCormack finally claims elusive win in Brussels – cross-country round-up. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Mutuota, Mutwiri (2016-02-13). Kamworor and Aprot win at penultimate IAAF Cross Country Permit meeting in Nairobi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Kenya rules at African Cross Country Championships. IAAF (2016-03-12). Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Botton, Wesley (2016-06-23). Sprint double for Ivory Coast but hosts South Africa dominate at African Championships. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Sheila Chepkirui. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2016-07-02.
- ^ "Fast 10km times from Kipkorir and Chepkirui as records fall in Brasov". World Athletics. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Cacciola, Scott (3 November 2024). "Abdi Nageeye and Sheila Chepkirui Win New York City Marathon". The New York Times.
