Ruth Chepngetich Breaks World Record at Chicago Marathon

Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya shattered the world record at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday finishing in two hours, nine minutes and 57 seconds. This remarkable achievement surpasses the previous record set by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa by nearly two minutes making Chepngetich the first woman to complete a marathon in under two hours and 10 minutes. Assefa established her former record during the 2023 Berlin Marathon, where she clocked two hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds.

Expressing her joy, the 30-year-old Ruth Chepngetich said, “I feel so great; I’m proud of myself. This is my dream that has come true. I’ve fought a lot thinking about the world record, and I have fulfilled it.” This victory marks Chepngetich’s third win in Chicago where she narrowly missed breaking the previous world record held by her compatriot Brigid Kosgei by just 14 seconds in 2022.

Notably, four of the five fastest women’s marathon times have emerged from the fast, flat Chicago course over the past six years. In the men’s race, Kenya’s John Korir also delivered an outstanding performance achieving a personal-best time of two hours, two minutes and 44 seconds to secure victory. Korir paid tribute to the late Kelvin Kiptum, the previous world record holder and last year’s winner, who tragically died in a car accident at 24.

Korir reflected on Kiptum’s record-setting run as inspiration, stating, “Today I was thinking about Kiptum, and I said, ‘last year if he could run under 2:01, why not me?'” His determination and motivation shone as he led a group of seven competitors to victory. Ethiopian Mohamed Esa finished second while Amos Kipruto another Kenyan placed third, highlighting the strong performance of Kenyan athletes in the race.