Injured Kenyan marathon star Kosgei pulls out of Olympics

Kenya's former marathon world record holder and Olympic silver medallist Brigid Kosgei has pulled out of the Paris Olympics because of injury, team officials said on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Kosgei, who set a world record 2hrs 14min 04sec for the women's marathon in Chicago 2019, was hoping to make her second Olympic appearance after being named alongside defending champion Peres Jepchirchir and former Olympic 5000m silver medallist Hellen Obiri in the women's marathon line-up.

The Kenyan marathon team – which also includes the men's two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge – has been in residential training in the Rift Valley athletics hub of Eldoret for the past two months.

"It's during one of the regular monitoring sessions that Olympic silver medallist Brigid Kosgei expressed an injury concern to the technical team," Kenya's Olympic Committee said in a statement.

"Upon a review by the medical team led by the chief medical officer... Kosgei will not be heading to Paris for her second Olympics."

The statement did not specify the injury.

Kosgei has been replaced by Sharon Lokedi, the 2022 New York marathon champion who had been named in the travelling reserve squad.

The women's marathon will be held in Paris on August 11, a day after the men's race.