Song, Dance For ‘Pride Of Kericho’ Sheila Chepkirui As Bank Of Africa Throws NYC Marathon Party At Tea Hotel
Elite and upcoming athletes register to attend Sunday’s TCS New York City Marathon at a viewing party organised by the Bank of Africa at the Kericho Tea Hotel. PHOTO/ BANK OF AFRICA
KERICHO, Kenya- Kericho County broke into song and dance on Sunday when home girl Sheila Chepkirui won this year’s TCS New York City Marathon with a watch party sponsored by Bank of Africa at the Kericho Tea Hotel attracting hundreds of athletes, coaches and fans who celebrated a Kenyan sweep in the World Marathon Majors race’s women’s competition.
History was rewritten at Sunday’s race as Abdi Nageeye became the first athlete from the Netherlands to capture a men’s open division title and Chepkirui leading a Kenyan sweep of the women’s open division podium while claiming her first-ever Abbott World Marathon Majors title.
Daniel Romanchuk and Susannah Scaroni led an American sweep of the wheelchair division, a marathon first.
Nageeye pulled away from the field in the final metres, outlasting the 2022 and 2021 TCS New York City Marathon champions, Evans Chebet and Albert Korir, respectively.
The 35-year-old from the Netherlands won his first Abbott World Marathon Majors race in 2:07:39, marking the first men’s open division victor from the country.
“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,” Nageeye said.
“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.”
Kenya rounded out the podium, with a pair of former champions in Evans Chebet, the 2022 champion, and Albert Korir, the 2021 champion, in second and third place, in 2:07:45 and 2:08:00.
Conner Mantz, the top American at the 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon, was the top American today, finishing in sixth in 2:09:00.
In her TCS New York City Marathon debut, Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui led the way for a Kenyan sweep in 2:24:35; the first time since 1978 that a single country won gold, silver and bronze in the women’s open division.
“Winning today means a lot to me. It means my training has been well, and I’m really happy for the win,” Chepkirui, who lives and trains in Kericho county, said.
The 2023 TCS New York City Marathon champion and 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Hellen Obiri was second in 2:24:49, followed by compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot in 2:25:21.
Chepkirui broke into the international limelight in 2005 when she won gold at the World Youth Championships in Marrakech in the 1,500 metres, at the time under the tutelage of Japheth Kemei.
“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,” Kemei, who is also Athletics Kenya’s Kericho sub-branch chairman, said at the Bank of Africa “Viewerthon” at Kericho’s Tea Hotel.
“I am so elated with Sheila’s win in NY. It could not have happened on a better day than today when the viewerthon is in her home town of Kericho,” Malenya Lusimba, head of Bank of Africa Kenya’s ‘Mwanariadha Account’ said.
“It excites me further seeing Kenyan ladies stand on the podium 1, 2, 3. What a good closure to 2024 Abbot World Marathon Majors season. Congratulations to Chebet and Korir too!” Lusimba, an avid
runner, added.
Elite and upcoming athletes follow Sunday’s TCS New York City Marathon at a viewing party organised by the Bank of Africa at the Kericho Tea Hotel. PHOTO/ BANK OF AFRICA
Bank of Africa Kenya’s “Viewerthons” is a series of events where the bank invites elite and upcoming athletes along with the local community to follow the Abbott World Marathon Majors races live from Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York while being taken through education programmes.
This is the eighth year that BOA are sponsoring the Viewerthon series as part of the bank’s commitment to supporting Kenya’s world class athletic talent pool.
“We strive to start working with athletes when they are still young, agile, full of energies and in their formative ages. This is when they are eager to make wins and earn from their sporting activities and
endorsements,” Lusimba noted.
“It is always easy to shape their thoughts to think post-retirement with a good financial plan, given that an athlete’s lifespan in his sporting life is short and their bodies are susceptible to lots of
injuries. They should make most of this formative stage.”
In addition to sponsoring the marathon viewing parties, Bank of Africa Kenya offers a distinctive package for sportsmen and women through its ‘Mwanariadha Account’ and Asset Finance, among other products whose offering further contributes to their financial goals.
