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Hellen Obiri has recalled the moments she had doubts about her athletics career and revealed how her Kisii roots played a huge role in her success thus far.
Two-time Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri has explained her journey from being a mere athlete to one of the greatest road runners in the world.
Starting her career, Hellen Obiri never knew she would live to become a World Marathon Major winner or even win medals at the World Championships or Olympic Games. However, Obiri has now done it all, inspired by her hard work, resilience and courage always to start over again even though it seems impossible.
Hellen Obiri is a two-time world 5000m champion, a two-time Olympic 5000m silver medallist, a former world cross country champion, a former New York City Marathon champion and a two-time Boston Marathon champion, just to name a few of her accomplishments.
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All these wins never came easy and in an interview with On Running, she explained how she managed to overcome all obstacles to become one of the best.
“I didn’t know I could come this far but I trusted the process without losing hope. That’s why I’m where I am today. If you work hard, you will have something in life. I learned from my parents. That’s why I work hard now, in my athletic career,” Hellen Obiri explained.
Moving to the US with her husband Tom Nyaundi was one of her leaps of faith and it sure has worked out for her so far. However, she carried her teachings from home to the US, explaining that being a Kisii, there is a certain way she is expected to carry herself.
She pointed out that Kisiis are very hardworking, her not being an exception. Hellen Obiri revealed that every time she competes, she has to remind herself of her roots to gain more morale and energy to keep going.
“Kisii tribe are hard-working people who don’t give up. That comes into my mind [when I run]. Historically, we believe that Kisii people don’t lose hope. I remember my tribe, where I came from, and that keeps me going,” she said.
“Where I’m from, the community supports you, despite poor leadership [in government] leading to a lack of opportunities [to progress an athletic career].”
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Going forward, Hellen Obiri also wants to inspire the young generation and help where she can. She is aware of the tons of talents from Kenya and she wants to ensure everyone has a chance when it comes to competing.
“I know there's lots of talent where I came from but those young athletes can’t always access opportunity. We want to set up training camps with proper equipment and training areas to identify where young athletes can train. Girls and boys with talent – we want to give them the chance to succeed,” Hellen Obiri said.
“I want to inspire young athletes to work hard and achieve in life. Training camps, tracks and organized races: That’s what I want to do to give back to my community. I want them to be inspired to work hard, and in turn, give back to their communities. That is my dream.”
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