(Chicago) Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich shattered the women’s marathon world record by almost two minutes on Sunday, winning in Chicago in 2:09:57.
The old record was held by the Ethiopian Tigist Assefa, who completed the 42.195 km in 2 h 11 min 53 s on September 24, 2023 in Berlin.
Among the men, his compatriot John Korir won, detached, in 2 h 02 min 43 s, succeeding world record holder Kelvin Kiptum, who died in February at the age of 23 in a road accident.
“I dedicate this record to Kelvin [Kiptum]he too had broken a world record here and he could have broken one again,” Chepngetich said after the finish.
“I am very proud of myself. I had this world record in mind, it was my dream, and today everything was perfect: the weather, and my preparation. »
Chepngetich, aged 30, achieved an extraordinary feat, running the entire race at a pace never before approached by women.
At 10th kilometershe was on the basis of 2:07:30, before slowing down very slightly, to however become the first woman in history to go below the symbolic bar of 2:10.
The 2019 marathon world champion, she had already won the Chicago Marathon twice, in 2021 and 2022. Her personal best over the distance was 2:14:18.