Peres Jepchirchir secured back-to-back women’s Olympic marathon titles for Kenya on Saturday timing 2hr 27min 20sec.

The 27-year-old two-time half marathon world champion beat compatriot and world record holder Brigid Kosgei (2hr 27:36) whilst USA’s Molly Seidel was third (2hr 27:46).

“It feels good. I’m so, so happy because we win as Kenya,” said Jepchichir.

“I’m happy for my family. I’m happy for my country.”

Jepchirchir succeeds disgraced fellow Kenyan Jemima Sumgong, who won in 2016 in Rio to become Kenya’s first female marathon champion.

However, she tested positive for the endurance booster EPO in 2017, leading to an eight-year doping ban.

Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.