NYRR Media Center

Edna Kiplagat is formidable in New York, having won her TCS New York City Marathon debut in 2010, and following that with a second-place finish in the 2011 NYC Half and a victory in the 2012 New York Mini 10K. She was fourth at the TCS New York City in both 2017 and 2022 and was seventh last year. 

In 2013, she became the first female athlete in history to successfully defend her World Athletics Championships marathon title, following her 2011 win with another gold medal. Vying for a third-consecutive victory at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, she placed fifth after contending in the lead pack for much of the race. At the 2017 edition of the event in London, she picked up another medal—this time silver—and then was fourth in 2019.

In 2014, she won the London Marathon after back-to-back runner-up finishes there. In 2016, she placed third in Tokyo and second at the Chicago Marathon, and followed that up with a victory at the Boston Marathon in 2017.

At age 39, she finished as the runner-up at the 2019 Boston Marathon and repeated her second-place performance again at the age of 41 in 2021. Shen then was officially declared the winner of the 2021 race after the first-place finisher was banned for doping.

Named the “Queen of Persistence,” Kiplagat has run all six of the Abbott World Marathon Majors races, in addition to both the Olympic and World Championships marathons. She won the Abbott World Marathon Series VIII (2013–14) and was named the Series V (10–2011) champion following the disqualification of Russian athlete Liliya Shobukhova.

Kiplagat and her husband and coach, Gilbert Koech, have two biological children, Carlos and Wendy. The couple also adopted her sister’s children, Mercy and Collins, when her sister passed away from breast cancer in 2003. Just days after Kiplagat won her second world title in 2013, her neighbor passed away, leaving behind an infant daughter. After attending the funeral, Kiplagat and Koech offered to cover the girl’s expenses until she reached the age of 18.