Olympian, 2-Time Manchester Champ, Returning To Chair 2023 Road Race

MANCHESTER, CT — Sally Kipyego, an Olympic silver medalist and two-time Manchester Road Race champion, will return to Manchester this November as the road race's honorary chairperson.

The announcement was made Monday by race officials.

Kipyego won the Thanksgiving Day run in 2010 with a time of 24:06, and returned the following year to capture her second title in 24:22. A world-class performer in every distance event from 3,000 meters to the marathon, she ran away from the women’s field during each of her Manchester appearances and held a winning margin of more than 40 seconds at both races.

The Kenyan-born runner, who became an American citizen in 2017, was the runner-up in the 10,000 meters at the 2011 World Championships.

In 2012, Kipyego finished second behind Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia in the 10,000 meters finals at the London Olympic Games in 30:26.37, a personal best. In addition to her silver medal run in the 10,000 meters, Kipyego just missed another podium appearance at the London Olympics when she placed fourth in the 5,000-meter finals.

A 2009 graduate of Texas Tech University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing, Kipyego won a record nine individual NCAA running championships during her collegiate career, including three consecutive Division 1 cross country titles.

Kipyego finished second at the 2016 New York City Marathon, and represented the United States in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where she placed 17th. Her personal best time for the 26.2-mile event is 2:25:10.

Manchester Rod Race Committee President Dr. Tris Carta said the race annually selects an honorary chairperson to recognize their outstanding contributions to the MRR, or the sport of running.

"Sally Kipyego is one of the greatest distance competitors in the world, and she was a terrific champion at our race," Carta said. “We are very pleased that she will be our honorary chairperson.”

Carta recalled that instead of accepting hotel accommodations offered by the race committee, the Olympic medalist requested to stay with local host families when she competed in Manchester.

"Sally made many friends here when she won the two championships, and we are all delighted to welcome her back to the road race this Thanksgiving," Carta said.

"I am truly honored to be invited back to this year’s Manchester Road Race," Kipyego said. "Manchester holds a special place for me for a number of reasons: one being the friendships I have developed over the years while staying with local families in the community.

"That first win in 2010 was special for me because it kicked off a successful season that led to World and Olympic medals."

The 87th Manchester Road Race, which has been designated as a 2023 World Athletics Label Event, will be staged on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23) at 10 a.m. The 4.748-mile run, one of America's oldest and most popular Turkey Day road races, is run on a loop course through the town's central streets.

The road race starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church. The event’s principal financial sponsors are ECHN, Hoffman Lexus and Pratt & Whitney. More details and on-line registration are available at www.manchesterroadrace.com.