Olympic and world champions to go head-to-head at New York City Marathon

The defending Olympic and TCS New York City Marathon champion, Peres Jepchirchir, and the reigning world marathon champion, Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia, have been announced as headliners in the women’s elite field for the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 6. 

In April, Jepchirchir became the only athlete in the world who has won the Olympic Marathon, NYC Marathon and the Boston Marathon in the same 12-month period.

Jepchirchir was named to Team Kenya for the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, but had to pull out in the weeks prior due to a hip injury. Now, the 28-year-old eyes her third Abbott World Marathon Major title this fall. A runner from Kenya has won the NYC Marathon in eight of the last 10 years. 

A four-time world championship medallist in the 5,000 and 10,000m will be making her marathon debut in New York City. Kenya’s Hellen Obiri has run the fifth fastest time women’s time over the half marathon (64:22), but NYC will be the first indicator of how Obiri’s unbelievable track speed will translate to the marathon. 

Earlier this year, Obiri, the 2019 world cross-country champion, joined On Athletics Club (OAC), an elite team based in Boulder, Colo. and led by former U.S. distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein. Ritzenhein and Obiri have already been working with one another on her marathon program. In an in-depth interview with CNN, Obiri mentioned that her current training load is from 180 to 200 kilometres per week.

Last month, Obiri won silver in the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore., clocking a personal best of 30:10, and has won 5,000m silver medals at the past two Olympic Games to go alongside her two world titles in the 5,000m.

The 2022 World Championship marathon medallists Gebreslase of Ethiopia and Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel will join Obiri and Jepchirchir on the start line. Gebreslase won gold in Eugene in a championship record and personal best time of 2:18:11, seven seconds faster than her previous best of 2:18:18 from the Tokyo Marathon, earlier this year. 

Leading the way for the U.S. is the 2020 Olympic trials champion, Aliphine Tuliamuk, who has more than 10 USATF titles to her name on the road, XC and track. Tuliamuk represented the U.S. in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics but DNF’d at the 20 km mark. 

Joining Tuliamuk on the start line is the former American half marathon record holder, Sara Hall, who was fifth at the world championship marathon in Eugene. Hall previously ran the NYC marathon in 2019, but DNF’d. Joining her on the start line her world championship teammate Emma Bates, who clocked a personal best to finish seventh at the world championships and was the runner-up at the 2021 Chicago Marathon. 

There are no Canadian elites in the men’s or women’s field for the 2022 NYC Marathon.

You can view the full list of elites for the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon here.