Marathon, new women’s world record
Marathon, world record
From Chicago comes the marathon world record for the second year in a row, last year that of Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum (2h00:35), who later tragically passed away in a car accident, and today that of 30-year-old compatriot Ruth Chepngetich, world champion in Doha in 2019, which is absolutely stratospheric. On her third success in Chicago, Chepngetich topped it by breaking both the 2h11 barrier for the first time in history and still the one considered unattainable at 2h10, ending the extraordinary ride in 2h09:56, taking almost two minutes off Ethiopian Tigist Assefa's record of 2h11:53 in Berlin on Sept. 24 last year.
Leading from the first to the last meter, the Kenyan began to take substantial advantage after the first ten kilometers, building up a sixteen-second lead by the halfway point of the race (1h04:16 at the half marathon!), gradually increasing the margin over her opponents and fighting alone against the hypothesis of the record, clearly in her legs with the monstrous passes taken every five kilometers. With a second half of 1h05:40 (!), the record that was visibly already in the Kenyan woman's pocket came by a margin impossible to imagine. These are the passages of the race-record: 15:00 (fifth kilometer), 30:14 (tenth), 45:32 (fifteenth), 1h00:51 (twentieth), 1h04:16 (half-marathon), 1h16:17 (twenty-fifth, best ever performance), 1h31:49 (thirtieth, best ever performance), 1h47:32 (thirty-fifth, best ever performance), closing again in push in 2h09:56. Behind Chepngetich’s record, also parading with impressive chrono times were Ethiopian Sutume Asefa, world 2024 leader until yesterday, in 2h17:32, and Kenyan Irine Cheptai (2h17:51). Best American Susanna Sullivan, seventh in 2h21:56.
It was also the day of John Korir, already third in a past edition, today winner with personal best raised from 2h05:01 to 2h02:44 (sixth all-time) thanks to a decisive action imposed about seven miles from the finish. Also on the podium were Ethiopian Mohamed Heseydin Esa (2h04:49) and Kenyan Amos Kipruto (2h04:50). First of the Americans C.J. Albertson, seventh in 2h08:17). Fifth, in his 42-kilometer debut, Kenyan Daniel Ebenyo, in 2h06:04. In the wheelchair races Swiss jubilation, with race record for Catherine Debrunner (1h46:12), fifth success in Chicago for Marcel Hug (1h25:54) after a finish on the rope due to the closeness of U.S. Daniel Romanchuk (1h25:58) and Japan’s Tomoki Suzuki (1h26:05).
