Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich smashed the world record at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon with a generation-defining time of 2:09:56.
Chepngetich set a suicidal pace for the first five kilometers, registering 15 minutes for the first stanza that set her on course for a sub 2:07 finish.
Somehow, she kept it up as she ticked off mile after mile, enjoying an enormous cushion on Tigst Assefa’s 2:11:53 set at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in 2023.
At the halfway mark, she registered the fastest half marathon seen by a woman this year with 1:04:16 and, despite a slightly slower second half where her mile splits began to read just over five minutes, she held her race together to maintain a pace that kept her on track to not only break the world record, but also threaten the previously unthinkable 2:10 barrier.
Her victory here in 2022 had come up just short of Brigid Kosgei’s old mark of 2:14:04 when she faltered badly in the latter stages after a searing first 30km, but Chepngetich was clearly in the kind of shape where any slowing was going to be far less damaging today.
It was going to be tight as tiredness crept in in the late miles, but with more than six minutes over second place, Chepngetich was able to find a burst of speed in the closing miles to get back under five-minute pace. Miles 25 and 26 were clocked in 4:45 and 4:49.
As she broke the tape, in echoes of last year’s men’s world record-setting run by the late Kelvin Kiptum, Chepngetich was enveloped in a hug by race director Carey Pinkowski.
The women’s marathon had been moved on once again.
Tokyo champion Sutume Kebede finished seven minutes and 36 seconds back, with Irine Cheptai in third with 2:17:51.
On a day when memories of Kiptum hung in the air during a moment’s silence before the start, Chepngetich’s performance was the most fitting tribute to the man who had made a similarly jaw-dropping mark on the sport 12 months earlier.
It was apt, too, that the men’s champion would be Kenyan.
John Korir took a tactical race by the horns in the final 10 kilometers to record his first AbbottWMM victory, following in the footsteps of his brother, the former Boston champion Wesley Korir.
Korir set the second fastest time in the world this year with 2:02:44, topping the podium with Mohamed Esa second in 2:04:39 and Amos Kipruto third in 2:04:50.
The day, though, belonged to Chepngetich, who also became the first woman to win three Chicago titles in the race's history.
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