Positives Ewoi drew at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix despite missing record by whisker

Dorcus Ewoi walked away from the 2026 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix with plenty of positives after launching her indoor season in emphatic fashion in Boston on Saturday, 24 January.

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Ewoi stormed to victory in the women’s 1500m, clocking a world-leading time and personal best of 4:01.22, narrowly missing the Kenyan indoor record by just 0.05 seconds. The national mark of 4:01.17 was set by Beatrice Chepkoech in 2019.

American Sinclaire Johnson finished second in 4:01.30, while Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska completed the podium in 4:01.78, as the race produced one of the fastest indoor 1500m fields in recent history.

Despite falling just short of the record, Ewoi’s performance established her as the second-fastest Kenyan woman of all time over the indoor 1500m.

“It felt good, I'm really encouraged. I was a bit more relaxed. The tension is gone for the indoors now. I didn’t really know where I was in training, so this race helped me understand myself better,” she told Letsrun.com.

The 29-year-old revealed that she took time off after the Manchester Road Race last season, stepping away from training for nearly a month to recover both mentally and physically.

“There’s nothing we can do in between because no indoor races are coming. This was the big indoor race. I took almost a month off to relax and make sure I was fine before going back to training,” she explained.

Ewoi also credited her silver medal finish in the women’s 1500m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, for boosting her confidence and belief.

“I have so much confidence and courage now. I’m just happy training, knowing this is my job. I got the medal, and I know I can push more and get more out of myself, but I don’t really have expectations or pressure,” she said.

Looking ahead, Ewoi confirmed that her indoor campaign will be limited, with just two races planned. She will line up at the Millrose Games next weekend before contesting one final indoor meet, ruling out participation at the World Indoor Championships.

“No, I only have two races planned for indoors. Millrose is coming next weekend, then I have one more. That’s my main goal,” she noted.

Her primary focus this season will be the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where she hopes to make the cut. However, she remains uncertain about upcoming trials scheduled for later this month.

“They have trials coming up at the end of this month. I’m not sure how that will go,” Ewoi said.