Kenyan marathoner Sharon Lokedi surprised many after winning the gold medal at the 2022 New York Marathon held on Sunday, November 6.
The promising athlete emerged the victor after clocking 2 hours, 23 minutes and 23 seconds with Kenyan-born Israeli athlete Lonah Chemtai Salpeter coming second.
Gotytom Gebreslase finished in the third position.
Following the win, Lokedi who was making her first debut marathon for Kenya walked away with $100,000 (KSh 12 million) in prize money.
There was also a prize of KSh 6 million for male or female runners who break the course records, but Lokedi who ran in unusually warm conditions did not hit those marks.
The marathon is considered the world’s largest marathon in the world with 53,627 finishers in 2019 and 98,247 applicants for the 2017 race.
Established in 1970, the race has only been cancelled twice, in 2012 due to the landfall of Hurricane Sandy, and 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The race is held on the first Sunday of November and attracts professional competitors and amateurs from all over the world.
Lokedi, 28, began competing first in collegiate track and cross country in 2015 after enrolling at the University of Kansas where she studied nursing and business.
In 2018, she won the 10,000 meters at the 20 18 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and in 2022, she made her debut at the New York Marathon and won.
