Mary Keitany

Mary Jepkosgei Keitany grew up in Kisok, a village in Kenya's Baringo County, running barefoot to fetch water and to school. She left school at 15 to work as a housemaid in Eldoret, where she joined a local athletics club and was spotted by Kenyan international Lenah Cheruiyot. She became a full-time runner in 2006 at age 24.

Keitany established herself first in the half marathon. She won the World Half Marathon title in 2009 in 1:06:36, then the second-fastest legal half marathon in history, and ran her personal best of 1:04:55 in 2018 at Ras Al Khaimah.

On the roads she was most dominant at the New York City Marathon, winning four times: 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018. She was the first open-division runner since Grete Waitz to win three consecutive NYC Marathons. She also won London in 2011, 2012, and 2017.

The 2017 London race defined her legacy. Running without male pacemakers in a women-only format, Keitany clocked 2:17:01, a women-only world record that stood until Tigst Assefa ran 2:15:50 at London in 2025. Her execution that day -- through the second half in 1:07:53 -- remains the standard reference point for unassisted women's marathon performance.

Keitany retired in September 2021 at age 39, following a hip injury sustained at the 2019 London Marathon. She trained throughout her career in Iten, Kenya under coach Gabriele Nicola.