Jepchirchir Aims for Second Olympic Gold Inspired by her Daughter

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Peres Jepchirchir has described how her six-year-old daughter, Natalia, inspires her to retain her Olympic Marathon title.

In the history of the Olympic marathon, no female athlete has ever managed to defend her title in back-to-back Games. However, Peres Jepchirchir, the current champion, firmly believes she can be the trailblazer to accomplish this historic feat as she gears up for the forthcoming Olympic Games in Paris, France next year.

At the age of 30, Jepchirchir draws her motivation from her six-year-old daughter, Natalia, whom she aspires to make proud as she returns to the Olympics in pursuit of further glory. In an interview with World Athletics, Jepchirchir disclosed that during the London Marathon, her daughter was taken aback when she finished in third place, as she had grown accustomed to witnessing her mother consistently clinch victories.

Jepchirchir shared, “During the London Marathon, my daughter came up to me and asked, ‘Why did you finish in third place? You’re usually the winner!'” Her young daughter was perplexed, as she had never witnessed her mother not securing the top spot in a marathon.

Out of the six marathons Jepchirchir had competed in, she had emerged as the victor in five. Her marathon journey began with the 2013 Kisumu Safaricom Marathon, where she made a remarkable debut by finishing third. Subsequently, in 2019, she achieved triumph at the Saitama International Marathon.

In 2020, she seized victory at the Valencia Marathon and extended her dominance by claiming the Olympic Marathon title in 2021, followed by a triumph at the New York City Marathon. She then took part in and won the Boston Marathon in 2022 before facing challenges due to injuries.

Nevertheless, her daughter’s steadfast support serves as a constant driving force, as Jepchirchir emphasized. She mentioned that her daughter initially had no knowledge of her injury struggles, but as she overheard discussions about her comeback from injury, she reassured her mother by saying, ‘Mama, you’re injury-free now, you’re running, and you’ll be fine. Mama, you’ll win!'”

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