Margaret Okayo

Okayo running in the 2005London Marathon
Personal information
Born	(1976-05-30)30 May 1976 (age 48) Masaba,Kisii District, Kenya
Height	1.51 m (4 ft 11 in)
Sport
Country	Kenya
Sport	Athletics
Event	Marathon
Achievements and titles
Personalbest	2:22:35 (London 2004)
Medal record Women'sathletics Representing Kenya World Marathon Majors 2001 New York City Marathon 2002 Boston Marathon 2003 New York City Marathon 2004 London Marathon 1999 Chicago Marathon 2000 New York City Marathon

Margaret Okayo (born 30 May 1976) is a professional Kenyanmarathon runner. She has won fourWorld Marathon Majors with victories in theNew York City Marathon (two times), theBoston Marathon and theLondon Marathon, setting three course records. Okayo's 2003 New York course record of 2:22:31 still stands today, despite the challenge of some of the world’s best distance runners having the benefit of improved shoe technology.^[1] She has also won theSan Diego Marathon on two occasions.

Margaret Okayo started running while at primary school. She graduated from theItierio Secondary School, located nearKisii town, in 1993. She was recruited byKenya Prisons Service, home to the country's top women's marathon runners, in 1995 where she nurtured her running career.^[2]

At the1998 Commonwealth Games she finished fifth in10,000 metres. She finished thirteenth at the1999 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.

Amongst her most successful races are the wins at theNew York Marathon in 2001 and 2003, the Boston Marathon in 2002 and the London Marathon in 2004. She still holds the course records at the New York Marathon and the Boston Marathon.

Other marathons won by Okayo includeMilan in 2003,San Diego in 2000 and 2001. She represented her native Kenya in the2004 Summer Olympic Games inAthens,Greece, but did not finish themarathon. She spends three months of every year training inItaly.

She won the 2003Udine Half Marathon and finished third at the 2008Rome-Ostia Half Marathon.^[3][4]

Okayo is of theGusii tribe. She is managed byFederico Rosa and coached byGabriele Rosa.

• All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise

Representing Kenya

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time
1999	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, IL, United States	2nd	2:26:00
2000	Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon	San Diego, CA, United States	1st	2:27:05
	New York City Marathon	New York, NY, United States	3rd	2:26:36
2001	Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon	San Diego, CA, United States	1st	2:25:05
	New York City Marathon	New York, NY, United States	1st	2:24:21
2002	Boston Marathon	Boston, MA, United States	1st	2:20:43
	Milan Marathon	Milan, Italy	1st	2:24:59
2003	Boston Marathon	Boston, MA, United States	4th	2:27:39
	New York City Marathon	New York, NY, United States	1st	2:22:31
2004	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	2:22:35
	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	—	DNF
	New York City Marathon	New York, NY, United States	4th	2:26:31
2005	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	4th	2:25:22
2006	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	9th	2:29:16

Wikiquote has quotations related toMargaret Okayo.

• IAAF: Focus on Athletes

• Margaret Okayo atWorld Athletics
• Margaret Okayo atOlympics.com
• Margaret Okayo atOlympedia
• Margaret Okayo at theCommonwealth Games Federation (archived)
• Marathoninfo profile
• Rosa & Associati profile

• 1976 births
• Living people
• Kenyan female long-distance runners
• Kenyan female marathon runners
• Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• Olympic athletes for Kenya
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
• London Marathon female winners
• Boston Marathon female winners
• New York City Marathon female winners
• Commonwealth Games competitors for Kenya
• People from Kisii County
• Sportspeople from Nyanza Province
• 21st-century Kenyan sportswomen

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles using sports links with data from Wikidata