Marathon runner Mary Keitany retires at the age of 39

Kenya’s Mary Keitany has decided to retire after her back injury. The 39-year-old marathon runner had set a world whilst competing in the 2017 London Marathon. She finished the marathon within two hours seventeen minutes and one second. In late 2019 she suffered a back injury. Before that, she had a successful run at the championships and had planned to continue even though she knew time was running out for her because she was already in her late 30s, but the back injury caused her to change her plans.

She could not get the required treatment to treat her injury while she was in Europe due to the pandemic and the injury has flared up time and again whenever she tried to train.

“After my successful 2019, when I had some good results including second place in New York, I was hopeful that I could still be very competitive internationally for several more years even though I am in my late 30s.”

However, I’m sad to say, a back injury that I suffered in late 2019 made a decision about my retirement for me.”

I couldn’t get the treatment I wanted in Europe because of the pandemic-related travel restrictions last year and every time I thought I had got over the injury and started training hard, it became a problem again.”

Mary Keitany is a Four-time New York Marathon Winner

Mary Keitany also won four New York marathon titles to her name. The Kenyan superstar had first made an impact in 2007 World Half Marathon Championship when she won a silver for an individual event and a gold for a team event.

She gave birth to her first child in 2008, and grabbed the trophy once again at the Half Marathon Championship in Birmingham, England.

Mary has two kids, one eight and the other one thirteen. She still has not decided on what she wants to do in the future. She has not set things in motion yet, but she is sure that she is going to spend more time with her family and be associated with charitable organisations.