Mary Jepkosgei Keitany (born 18 January 1982) is a Kenyan former professional

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music men ...

. She is the world record holder in a women-only marathon, having won the 2017 London Marathon in a time of 2:17:01. As of November 2022, she placed fifth on the world all-time list at the marathon and eleventh on the respective world all-time list for the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

. Her former half marathon best of 1:05:50 (2011) lived three years as the women's world record. She also has held world bests at 10 miles (50:05 minutes), 20 kilometres (1:02:36), and 25 kilometres (1:19:53), all of which were set in road races. In August 2018, she was honored by the Shoe4Africa foundation who funded and built the Mary Keitany Shoe4Africa school in Torokwonin, Baringo County, Kenya. She and her husband Charles sit on the Shoe4Africa school board.

Career

Born in

Kabarnet Kabarnet is a town in Baringo County, Kenya. The town has an urban population of 9,583 and a total population of 24,661 (1999 census). Geography At an altitude of 1,815 metres (5,957 feet) Kabarnet is located on the eastern edge of the Kerio Va ...

, Baringo County, Keitany started running while in primary school. In 2002, she joined the Hidden Talent Academy.

2006

In January, she placed 21st in her first senior race at the Shoe4Africa 5 kilometre women's race.

2007

She won a silver medal at the World Road Running Championships, finishing second to

Lornah Kiplagat Lornah Kiplagat (born 1 May 1974) is a Dutch professional long-distance runner. She was born in Kabiemit, Rift Valley Province, Kenya and came to the Netherlands in 1999. She gained Dutch citizenship in 2003 and has competed for the Netherlan ...

who broke the world record.

2009

After a year out due to pregnancy, she returned to competition at the World 10K Bangalore in May. She set a new personal best but finished one second behind winner

Aselefech Mergia Aselefech Mergia Medessa ( Oromo: ''Asallafach Margaa Mardaasaa''; Amharic: አሰለፈች መርጊያ; born 23 January 1985) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. She was a bronze medallist in the event at the 2009 ...

. In September, she won the Lille Half Marathon with a finish time of 1:07:00, which was the seventh fastest of all-time. This performance qualified her for the

World Half Marathon Championships The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships is a biennial international half marathon competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It ...

in Birmingham, where she outpaced

Aberu Kebede Aberu Kebede Shewaye (born 12 September 1989) is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. Her half marathon best of 1:07:39 is one of the fastest ever by an Ethiopian woman. She gained a bronze at the 2009 I ...

to win her first world championship, set a new personal best of 1:06:36, and broke the championship record. She won a second gold medal as part of the winning Kenyan squad in the team competition. Reflecting on the win, she noted, "It's my best ever time, so I'm so happy.... I had a baby just 1 year and 3 months ago." Her 15 kilometre interval time, 46:51 minutes, was faster than the world record of 46:55 held by

Kayoko Fukushi is a Japanese long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000, 10,000 metres and marathon. Fukushi represented Japan at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2013 World Championships in ...

of Japan; however, Keitany's time was not ratified as a new world record because of the lower elevation of the 15 kilometre mark compared to the race start. Her time was the second fastest ever in the half marathon (after Lornah Kiplagat). The half marathon time was a new African record, with the previous record of 1:06:44 hours set by

Elana Meyer Elana Meyer, OIS, (born 10 October 1966) is a South African long-distance runner who won the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in the 10,000 metres event. Meyer set the 15 kilometres road running African record of 46:57 minutes in Nov ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in 1999. Keitany also beat the previous Kenyan record of 1:06:48 that she set in Udine two years earlier. The director of the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

, Mary Wittenberg, suggested that she could become a world-beater over the full marathon distance in the coming years.

2010

She won the Abu Dhabi Half Marathon. She also won the Berlin 25 kilometre race, setting a new world record of 1:19:53 hours. The previous record was set by Mizuki Noguchi of Japan in 2005. Keitany finished almost five minutes ahead of runner-up Alice Timbilili. In preparing for the New York City Marathon, she won the Portugal Half Marathon in Lisbon in September, leading from the front to win largely uncontested in a time of 1:08:46. In her debut at the

, she was among the leading three for much of the race but faded to finish third in a time of 2:29:01 hours.

2011

Keitany began the year in record-breaking form as she won the

Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. History The first event, in 2007, saw Samuel Wanjiru breaking the world record, but Wanjiru himself set a new world record only a month later in ...

with a world record time of 1:05:50 hours. This marked the first time a woman had run the distance in under 1:06 hours on a non-aided course. She also set other records along the way, including a world record of 1:02:36 for 20 kilometres and world best times for 8 kilometres and 10 miles. She then won the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

in a time of 2:19:17, pulling away from the field at the 14-mile mark and becoming the fourth fastest woman ever over the marathon distance. In September, she won the Portugal Half Marathon for the second time and improved upon her own course record with a winning time of 1:07:54 hours. She was the pre-race favourite for the

, where she built a significant lead by the halfway point (running at more than four minutes faster than the course record). She slowed dramatically, however, in the second half of the race and was overtaken by Firehiwot Dado and Buzunesh Deba, leaving her in third place with a finishing time of 2:23:38 hours.

2012

She intended to improve her world record mark at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, but windy conditions slowed her to a finish time of 1:06:49 hours. At the

, she broke

Catherine Ndereba Catherine Nyambura Ndereba (born 21 July 1972) is a Kenyan marathon runner. She has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008. She is ...

's African record with a winning time of 2:18:37 hours and became the third fastest woman ever at this distance. At the Summer Olympics in London, she ran a fast pace among the lead pack until the 41 kilometre mark, where she fell behind to finish fourth.

2013

She announced her pregnancy at the start of 2013 and skipped that year's competitions.

2014

On 2 November, Keitany battled with eventual second-place finisher Jemima Sumgong to win the

in a time of 2:25:07.

2015

At the

, Keitany was one of the "Fantastic Four" of Kenyans (consisting of Keitany,

Edna Kiplagat Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat (born 15 November 1979) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the 2011 and 2013 World Champion in the marathon. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and N ...

, Florence Kiplagat, and Priscah Jeptoo) who were expected to win the race and possibly challenge

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Marath ...

's course record (and women's world record). Down the last stretch of the race, Keitany battled Ethiopian Tirfi Tsegaye, with Keitany finishing second in 2:23:40 hours, 18 seconds behind winner Tigist Tufa from Ethiopia. Keitany remarked after the race that she was affected by the wind and cold weather.

2016

Keitany won the

in 2:24:26 hours.

Sally Kipyego Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego (born 19 December 1985) is a Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 10,000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the silver medalist in the same race ...

finished second (2:28:01), with

Molly Huddle Molly Huddle (born August 31, 1984) is an American long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. Huddle set the American record in the 5000 m at the 2014 Herculis Diamond League meet in Fontvieille, Monaco (14:42. ...

in third (2:28:13). Keitany won the 2016

Bix 7 Road Race The Bix 7 Road Race is held annually in Davenport, Iowa, as a commemoration to Davenport native and jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke. It is followed a week later by the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival. Race The 7 mile road race is annually he ...

in Davenport, Iowa in 35:18 and set the course record for women.

2017

In April, Keitany won the

, setting a new world record (women only) at 2:17:01 hours. She bettered Radcliffe's record by 41 seconds, which she set at the 2005 London Marathon. Tirunesh Dibaba finished second, 55 seconds behind. (Radcliffe has run a faster time in a mixed gender event, but that is a separate record.) Her 1st half marathon split time was 1:06:54 hours. Earlier in February the same year, Keitany finished the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon second (1:05.13) after Peres Jepchirchir, whose 1:05:06 finish time set a new world record. The third, fourth, and fifth-place finishers (

Joyciline Jepkosgei Joyciline Jepkosgei (born 8 December 1993) is a Kenyan female long-distance runner who competes over distances from 10,000 metres to the marathon. She is the former half marathon world record holder in contests with mixed-gender fields with h ...

, Jemima Sumgong, and

Tirunesh Dibaba Tirunesh Dibaba ( om, Xirunesh Dibaabaa, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 June 1985) is an Ethiopian athlete who competed in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medal ...

) also set new personal bests. She won the TD Beach to Beacon 10k on 5 August 2017 in a course record time of 30:41 minutes. She improved the cr set at last year's run. Keitany did not compete at the World Championships in London. On 10 September 2017, Keitany won the 2017

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the Simplyhealth Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South ...

in 1:05:59, 20 seconds off her course record from 2014. On 5 November 2017, she finished second at the

at a time of 2:27:54.

2018

On 4 November 2018, Keitany won the

in a time of 2:22:48, a time just 17 seconds off the course record. For the first half she needed 75:30 and the second 66:58, in a women-only race. Her 10 km interval times were 37:07, 35:02, 31:33, 31:47 and 7:19 for the last 2.195 km. Keitany's time between km 25 and km 35 was 30:53.

Vivian Cheruiyot Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and cross country running. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning a silver medal at the 5 ...

was the runner up in 2:26:02, and the previous year's winner

Shalane Flanagan Shalane Grace Flanagan (born July 8, 1981) is an American long-distance runner, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area reco ...

was in third place with 2:26:22.

2019

Keitany came second at the

behind half marathon world record holder and debutante

in 2:23:32.

Retirement

Mary Keitany announced her retirement on 22 September 2021 aged 39 years. Her retirement was occasioned by a hip injury she suffered during the 2019 London marathon, which restricted her training and performance.

Personal life

She is married to another runner Charles Koech and gave birth to her first child, Jared, in June 2008, and her second child, Samantha, in April 2013. She stopped training and other sporting activities at the third month of pregnancy, and resumed when the babies were six months old. She trains in Iten, is managed by Gianni Demadonna.

Major competition record

World Marathon Majors results

Personal bests

References

External links

*
Focus on Athletes article
from IAAF
Mary Jepkosgei Keitany profile and results
from Association of Road Racing Statisticians {{DEFAULTSORT:Keitany, Mary 1982 births Living people People from Baringo County Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Half Marathon Championships winners London Marathon female winners World Athletics record holders New York City Marathon female winners Recipients of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races Best Marathon Runner Award