2022 New York City Marathon champion and 2024 Boston Marathon runner-up Sharon Lokedi will replace former marathon world record holder and Olympic silver medalist Brigid Kosgei on the Kenyan Olympic Marathon Team for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) confirmed the replacement following concerns over an injury that a doctor assessed and determined she would not run the Olympic Marathon.
In May, Athletics Kenya selected its team for the Olympic marathon, including reigning Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir and two-time Boston Marathon champion (2023, 2024) and 2023 New York City Marathon champion Hellen Obiri.
Kosgei was the third athlete selected following a fifth-place finish at the 2024 London Marathon, which raised some suspicion and controversy in the running world.
Lokedi was named as an alternate despite a second-place finish behind Hellen Obiri in the Boston Marathon and a third-place finish at the New York City Marathon, a race where she beat Kosgei head-to-head.
Not only did Lokedi beat Kosgei head-to-head, but her impressive times and results were achieved on the challenging courses of Boston and New York without the help of pacemakers, which simulates closely the Paris course and style of the Olympic Games.
The NOC-K released a statement following the replacement.
“The Kenya Marathon team heading to the Olympic games in Paris has been training for slightly over two months, and the athletes continue to receive financial support and technical support. Upon a review by the medical team led by the Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ondiege, Kosgei will not be heading to Paris for her second Olympics. Following the development, Sharon Lokedi, who was named to the reserve team, will now join defending Champion Peres Jepchirchir and Hellen Obiri to fly Kenya’s flag in Paris. The National Olympics committee would like to thank Brigid for the time she spent in training under the Team Kenya Umbrella and will continue supporting her throughout the season.”
