OBIRI Hellen

General
FUTURE ROAD FOCUS
She has said she plans to switch to road races after the Olympic Games in Tokyo. "After 2021 I will move to road races. The Olympic gold medal is the only one that is missing from my pocket and after the Olympics in Tokyo, I am preparing to move to road races from 2022. Age is fast catching up and there will be more youngsters springing up in the 5000m. I think I have had enough of track and I need to give them a chance. There is a difference between track and road races. For racing on the track, I have to do a lot of track and speed sessions in preparation, but for the road I have to have a lot of mileage in my body because it's less about speed and more about endurance." (worldathletics.org, 27 Sep 2020; capitalfm.co.ke, 25 Sep 2020; allafrica.com, 08 Aug 2020)

MOTHERHOOD
In 2015 she gave birth to her daughter Tania, and in 2020 she said that becoming a mother has renewed her motivation. "Sometimes when you become a mother you need to work extra hard because you have somebody who looks up to you, you have a family now, you're a family woman. So that motivates you a lot. I think my favourite thing is when I'm at home, playing with my girl. I'm looking forward to having a second child, but I can't tell you which year." (worldathletics.org, 27 Sep 2020; World Athletics YouTube channel, 21 Jul 2020)

LONDON 2012 EXPERIENCE
She considered quitting athletics placing 12th [later upgraded to eighth] in the 1500m at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. "I almost quit athletics after the 2012 Olympic Games in London. It remains my worst performance ever [speaking in 2020]. I was in great shape but I suddenly ended up finishing 12th. I should have won Kenya a medal, it pains me to date since some opportunities can come once. I can't tell what really happened that day." (worldathletics.org, 27 Sep 2020; allafrica.com, 08 Aug 2020)

EARLY DAYS
She began her athletic career as a short and long-distance runner with the Kenya Defence Forces until Kenyan athlete Noah Ngeny convinced her to change to the 1500m event as well as middle-distance events. She said that she was not comfortable running the 1500m in the beginning but after a few races she got used to it. "At first I was hesitant but my management arranged for races in Morocco and Russia, and when I ran there I started to become more comfortable with the event." (allafrica.com, 08 Aug 2020; capitalfm.co.ke, 12 May 2011)