Jepchirchir, who is expected to be named in Team Kenya to the Paris Olympics slated for next year says her focus is on defending her crown.
A calf injury has forced Olympics women's marathon defending champion Peres Jepchirchir out of Sunday's New York Marathon.
The 30-year-old was scheduled to take on a star-studded field that had last year's surprise winner on her debut Sharon Lokedi, former world record holder Brigid Kosgei, Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri among others but withdrew on the eve of the race.
"I traveled to New York with the hopes that it would improve, but after two days of physical therapy, we have made the decision that I should not start the race,' she announced on Instagram.
Jepchirchir, who is expected to be named in Team Kenya to the Paris Olympics slated for next year says her focus is on defending her crown.
"I still hope to defend my Olympic title in Paris next year and do not want to do anything that might put that in jeopardy," she continued, explaining her decision not to race in New York.
Jepchirchir’s most recent marathon victory was achieved in 2022 when she won in Boston in April. She finished third in London a year later and most recently retained her world half marathon title in Riga.
She ran 2:17:16 in Valencia in 2020, and also won the Great North Run half marathon in September and was expected to be in good form but says she was injured last weekend and it was a wait-and-see until Saturday when she decided against competing.
“I will now take a rest for maybe a week and get some treatment as I wait for the green light to start preparing for the Olympics as the federation has assured Eliud Kipchhoge and I that we will be in Paris for the title defense," she further explained.