Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich breaks women’s marathon world record in Chicago

Chepngetich wins the Chicago Marathon in 2:09:56, dedicating the record to Kelvin Kiptum, who died in a car crash.

Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich has put on a performance for the ages as she obliterated the women’s marathon world record in Chicago, taking nearly two minutes off the previous best to win in two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds.

Chepngetich ditched the competition by the halfway mark and ran through a chorus of cheers through the final straight as she claimed her third title in Chicago on Sunday.

The 30-year-old, who became the first three-time women’s winner of the Chicago race, broke the previous world record of 2:11:53 set by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa last year in Berlin.

Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede crossed the line seven minutes and 36 seconds later while Kenyan Irine Cheptai (2:17:51) was third.

“This is my dream that has come true,” Chepngetich said.

Chepngetich, who also won in Chicago in 2021 and 2022, dedicated her latest victory to Kelvin Kiptum, who set the men’s world record at last year’s race just four months before he died in a car accident at the age of 24.

“The world record has come back to Kenya, and I dedicate this world record to Kelvin Kiptum,” Chepngetich said.

“I’ve fought a lot, thinking about the world record and I have fulfilled it.”

Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya poses with the clock after setting a new world record at the Chicago Marathon [Michael Reaves/Getty Images via AFP]

Runners remember Kiptum

Runners observed a moment’s silence on the start line in honour of Kiptum. Organisers also handed out stickers displaying Kiptum’s record-breaking time of 2:00:35 for the 50,000 participants to put on their race bibs.

In the absence of Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, the 2023 Chicago winner, Chepngetich set a blazing early pace and reached the halfway point in 1:04:16, the fifth-quickest time in history for a half marathon by a woman.

“The weather was perfect and I was well-prepared. The world record was in my mind,” Chepngetich, who was runner-up to Hassan 12 months ago, told reporters after the race.

Chepngetich ran the first 5km (3.1 miles) in 15 minutes flat and by the halfway mark she had built a 14-second cushion between herself and Kebede.

Television commentators were astonished as she ground through the course, comparing her attempt at a sub-2:10 marathon to the moon landing, and she only seemed to gain momentum as she sprinted through the final 2 miles (3.2km).

Chepngetich, the 2019 world champion, hunched over in utter exhaustion after breaking the tape but later said “Chicago is like home”.

Her compatriot John Korir won on the men’s side in 2:02:44.

The 27-year-old Korir finished ahead of Ethiopia’s Mohamed Esa (2:04:39) and another Kenyan, Amos Kipruto (2:04:50).

Korir was part of a seven-man group at the head of the course 30km (18.6 miles) before he hit the accelerator and shed his rivals following a relatively conservative start.

Four of the top five were Kenyans, with Vincent Ngetich and Daniel Ebenyo finishing off the podium.

“It was really nice to run my PB and win in Chicago,” Korir said, adding that he too used the memory of Kiptum as a source of motivation.

“Today I was thinking about Kiptum and I said, ‘Last year if he could run under 2:01, why not me?’ So I had to believe in myself and try to do my best.”

Korir’s time was the second-fastest-ever run in Chicago.