Ruth Chepng’etich absolutely dominated the streets of Chicago on Sunday morning.
Chepng’etich broke the world record by almost two minutes at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. The 30-year-old Kenyan won the women’s marathon in a record time of 2:09:56. It marked his third victory at the Chicago Marathon in the last four years.
Chepng’etich broke the world record set by Ethiopian Tigist Assefa, who ran the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:53 last year. Chepng’etich is now the first woman in history to run a marathon under 2:10.
“I feel so good. “I’m very proud of myself,” she said. via The Associated Press. “This is my dream. “I fought a lot, thinking about the world record.”
By comparison, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won gold in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics earlier this summer. He finished with an Olympic record time of 2:22:55.
On the men’s side, John Korir won by almost two full minutes. The Kenyan finished with a time of 2:02:44, beating Ethiopian Huseydin Mohamed Esa’s time of 2:04:39. Both times were significantly faster than the Olympic record Tamirat Tola set when she won the men’s marathon in Paris.
Both Korir and Chepng’etich honored former men’s world record holder Kelvin Kiptum on Sunday. Kiptum won the Chicago Marathon last year and set the world record by 34 seconds. He and his trainer died in a car accident in February when they crashed into a tree near a training area in Kenya. He was 24 years old.
Kiptum was also expected to be a top contender at the Olympics earlier this year. He is the only man to have broken the 2:02 mark three times in a marathon. He was also reportedly attempting to become the first man to break the two-hour mark at the Rotterdam Marathon in April.
“The world record has returned to Kenya,” Chepng’etich said, via The Associated Press. “I dedicate this world record to Kelvin Kiptum.”
CJ Albertson was the top American on the men’s side and Susanna Sullivan was the top American woman in the race. They both finished seventh.