Hellen Obiri won her fourth marathon major after she stormed to victory in the 2025 New York City Marathon. Hellen Obiri relocated to the USA in 2022. The 35-year-old was one of Kenya’s best long-distance runners on the track, but she switched to the marathon a few years ago after relocating to the USA. Since moving there, she has won the Boston Marathon and New York Marathons twice. She was also third at last year’s Paris Olympics. Where is Hellen Obiri based? In 2022, Obiri moved from Kenya to Boulder, Colorado, alongside her husband, Tom Nyaundi and their young daughter, Tania, per ON. She moved to America to train under On Athletics Club’s coach, Dathan Ritzenhein, a former distance runner. She is now working with Laura Thweatt. “We’ve been wanting to move to the USA for training and to live there, so for me it’s not a difficult move,” Obiri told CNN in 2022. Why Obiri moved to USA According to Forbes, Obiri moved to the USA because of the running community, the high altitude and the climate, which are ideal for long-distance runners like her. She also told the BBC she needed a coach to help her train for the marathon. “When switching to the road, I felt I needed a coach on the ground with me in training,” she said. “On track you can train without a coach present and do well, but with the marathon sometimes you need a coach to watch what you are doing.” Her debut in the marathon didn’t go as planned, as she finished sixth in New York with a time of 2:25:49. She has since bounced back and won two Boston marathon titles and the 2023 New York Marathon crown before her latest win on Sunday. “I wanted to do my best. The ladies were so strong, but I told myself to be patient until the last minute,” she said. Hellen Obiri celebrates after winning the 2025 New York Marathon. Photo by Charly Triballeau. Source: Getty Images Obiri moves back to Kenya However, Obiri briefly moved back to Kenya earlier this year to train for the Boston Marathon. “I am glad to be back home for the first time since June. I will need like 12 weeks to train for Boston, and the training regime and terrains in Ngong will be crucial for my hat-trick campaign,” she said then. She finished second in this year’s Boston Marathon behind Sharon Lokedi.
By Martin Moses
