After winning in Buenos Aires, he set a brutal new world record in the Chicago Marathon

Ruth Chepngetich had anticipated it and kept her promise. This Sunday, a month after winning in Buenos Aires, he won for the third time in his career the Chicago Women’s MarathonUnited States, and achieved the new world record, improving by two minutes the previous mark of Tigst Assefa, achieved in Berlin 2023. The Kenyan flew in the so-called Windy City, where she arrived determined not only to succeed, but also to write her name in the history books of world athletics.

“I hope to win for the third time, I hope to push hard for a new race record. My preparation for this race has been better than in the last two years and I hope for the best, I am going to give everything until the end to win”Chepngetich anticipated on Friday.

And in the competition he signed the new record in brand two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds. The 30-year-old athlete dominated the race from start to finish and lowered the Ethiopian’s record Tigst Assefa (2h.11.53) achieved in Berlin in 2023.

Chepngetich, a world star, had been in the Buenos Aires half marathon a month ago, where he also established clear dominance from the beginning and set the new mark for the Buenos Aires circuit with 1h05m58s. She had been the 7th fastest in the world this season and only in four cities (Barcelona, ​​Houston, Ras-al-Khaimah and Lisbon) was a woman able to run faster during 2024.

“I love this circuit and, above all, the spectacle of the people, it is very gratifying for us,” said Ruth in Buenos Aires, who three years ago in Istanbul had established the half marathon world record with 1h4m02s, later surpassed by two Ethiopians.

“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”he congratulated himself.

Chepngetich ran the entire race at a pace never seen before in a women’s marathon to become the first woman to break the symbolic mark of 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Marathon world champion in 2019, Chepngetich had already won twice in Chicago in 2021 and 2022. Her personal best in the distance was 2:14:18.

Kenya completed the victory in Chicago, one of the six major marathons on the world calendar, with the victory of John Korir in the men’s event with a time of two hours, two minutes and 43 seconds.

Chepngetich and Korir dedicated their triumphs to their compatriot Kelvin Kiptumwho a year ago also broke the world record in Chicago before dying last February in a traffic accident in his country.

“I dedicate this record to Kelvin (Kiptum). He also broke a world record here and could still have broken it” again, Chepngetich declared after the finish line.