Sharon Lokedi

Sharon Lokedi (born March 10th, 1994) is a Kenyan middle and long-distance runner from the major city of Eldoret. She was recruited to the University of Kansas (KU) where she has studied nursing and business. She began competing first in collegiate track and cross country in 2015. Three years later, she won the 10000 m at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships> She has been a 10-time All-American & 12-time Big 12 champion, as of March 2019.[2]

Sharon Lokedi
Personal information
NationalityKenya
Born (1994-03-10) March 10, 1994[1]
ResidenceLawrence, Kansas
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, cross country, 10,000 m
College teamKansas
Coached byStanley Redwine

Early life

Sharon is the daughter of Jonathan and Rose Lokedi. She has three younger siblings; Ceddellah Chelimo, Lince Cheptoo and Mercy Chemutai

High school

At the Kapkenda Girls’ School she won four letters in track. She is the school record holder in the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter races. In 2013, she was named the school's "Best Athlete of the Year."

University of Kansas

As a freshman in 2015 she finished sixth in her first collegiate race, clocking 10:06.11 for the 3,000 meters at the indoors Husker Invitational. She improved that time for 3,000 meters at the Big 12 Championship finishing 15th in 9:48.10, which made her the No. 8 KU performer ever. In the same meet, she took 13th in the 5,000 meters in 17:31.38. She led her team in all of the five 2015 races in which she ran, and became the second All-American in KU program history as a result of finishing 10th in the NCAA cross country running Championships with a 6K time of 20:04.9 and finished third at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, in 20:14.9. She took 11th in 21:09.5 at the Big 12 Championship and ran 20:08.3 and 4th at the Pre-National Invitational.

In 2016, at the NCAA Indoors, she finished sixth in the 5,000 meters in 15:58.61 and won the Big 12 3000 meter Indoor Championship, adding a fifth place in the 3,000 with another PR, 9:26.89. She finished third in the Iowa State Classic 5,000 with a PR 15:57.95. At the KU/Kansas State/Wichita State Triangular a 4:56.39 earned her a win. Outdoors she took sixth in the 10,000 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with another PR of 32:49.43 and won the 10,000 meters in 34:59.58 at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship, taking seventh as well in the 5,000 meters at 15:47.97. She finished 14th in the 10,000 at the Stanford Invitational in 33:10.06. Her fifth place, 19:52.2 at the NCAA Championships cross country came as still another PR.

Sharon redshirted her 2017 Indoor season for medical reasons. In the 2017 NCAA outdoor 10K, Sharon finished third and also was third in the 2018 NCAA indoor 5K. She set the Kansas school record in the 10,000 meters at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championship, finishing third in 32:46.10 to earn All-America honors after winning Big 12 titles in the 10,000 and 5,000 meters. She set another school record finishing second in the 5,000-meter run in 16:00.6 at the Stanford Cardinal Classic. She lowered that 5,000 meters at the Stumptown Twilight meet with a 15:44.51. Her 4:29.88 won the 1,500-meter run at the Rock Chalk Classic.

She was named the Big 12 Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year for the second consecutive season ... Became just the fourth female in Big 12 history to win multiple individual conference titles with her first place finish, running 20:00.5 at the Big 12 Championship. She was the runner-up in the NCAA Midwest Regional (11/10) with a time of 20:12 and placed 44th at the NCAA Championships in 20:15.14.

In 2018, Sharon lowered her KU school record in the 5,000-meter with an indoor time of 15:39.05, and set an indoor PR when winning the Mark Colligan Memorial mile in 4:45.84, then ran 4:45.56 to win the Rod McCravy Memorial mile. Her 8:59.69 became the school record holder in the 3,000-meter run at the Iowa State University Classic. She won the 5,000 and 3,000 crowns at the Big 12 Indoor Championship running 16:26.57 and 9:19.97, respectively. In the NCAA Indoor Championships she finished third in the 5,000 with a 15:52.95, and combined with her sixth in the 3,000 in 9:03.68 she secured two First Team All-America recognitions. In the Stanford Invitational her 32:21.19 had her finishing fifth and later, she PR'd at 1,500 meters at the National Relay Championships in 4:25.94. On the last lap of the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships 10000 m, Lokedi stormed past pre-race favorite and six-time NCAA titlist Karissa Schweizer[3]. Lokedi ran 32:09.20 to win, beating third-place Schweizer by 5.74 seconds, 18 seconds under the existing meet record, set by Sylvia Mosqueda thirty years earlier.[4][5]

Lokedi ran 15:15.47 in a December 2018 Boston Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener to earn the 2019 World Championships 5000 m entry standard, No. 6 best time in NCAA History (on a 200-meter track) and Indoor School Record. At the 2019 Big 12 Conference indoor track and field championship, Lokedi won both 5000 m in 16:11.50 and 3000 m in 9:20.71. At the 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, Lokedi raced the 5000 m and placed 11th in 16:06.21.

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2015 NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship Louisville, Kentucky 10th cross country 20:14.9
2016 NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships Birmingham, Alabama 6th 5000m 15:58.61
2016 NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships Eugene, Oregon 6th 10000m 32:49.43
2016 NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship Terre Haute, Indiana 5th cross country 19:52.2
2017 NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships Eugene, Oregon 3rd 10000m 32:46.10
2018 NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships College Station, Texas 6th 3000m 9:03.08
2018 NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships College Station, Texas 3rd 5000m 15:52.95
2018 NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st 10000m 32:09.94
2018 NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships Eugene, Oregon 12th 5000m 15:51.29
2019 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships Birmingham, Alabama 11th 5000m 16:06.21[2]

Professional Competition

In her first race as a pro, Lokedi easily won the Carlsbad 5K in 15:38 and her boyfriend of two years, Edward Cheserek, tied an IAAF world record of 13:29 in the men's race.[6][7]

References
  1. Hardy, Christian S. "From Kenya to Kansas, Sharon Lokedi keeps running". The University Daily Kansan. ...at 14 years old...on Dec. 27, 2007
  2. Sharon Lokedi, University of Kansas, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  3. Mizzou's Schweizer goes out on top, captures sixth national title, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dave Matter, June 9, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  4. Iowan Karissa Schweizer places third in 10,000-meter race at NCAA Championships, Des Moines Register, June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  5. NCAA 10K Preview: Anna Rohrer, Marc Scott Aim For First National Titles, FloTrack, Johanna Gretschel, Jun 5, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  6. Sharon Lokedi 1st Place Women's Elite - Carlsbad 5000, Runner Space, April 7, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  7. Cheserek matches Wanders’ performance from Monaco to join Lokedi as champion, completing first Kenyan sweep at annual event since 2001, DyeStat, Erik Boal, April 7, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
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