Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich has smashed the marathon world record at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, winning the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in an extraordinary time of 2:09:56.
Chepngetich broke the previous world record of 2:11:53 set by Tigist Assefa in Berlin last year, improving by almost two minutes. This victory marked her third Chicago Marathon title, and she shattered her own personal best of 2:14:18, set in 2022, by more than four minutes.
“Chepngetich’s intent was clear from the start,” World Athletics reported. “She flew through the first 5km in 15:00, accompanied by Ethiopia’s Sutume Asefa Kebede. She then reached 10km in a remarkable 30:14, with Kebede still just two seconds behind.”
Chepngetich maintained her relentless pace, hitting the half-way point in an astonishing 1:04:16, the fifth-fastest half marathon time ever recorded, setting her on course for a sub-2:09 finish. While Kebede started to fall behind, she still remained inside the world record pace, reaching the half in 1:04:30, three minutes ahead of Joyciline Jepkosgei.
In her post-race comments, Chepngetich dedicated the victory to the late marathon record holder, Kelvin Kiptum, saying, “I feel so great. I’m very proud of myself. This is my dream. I fought a lot, thinking about the world record. The world record has come back to Kenya, and I dedicate this world record to Kelvin Kiptum.”
Kebede finished in second place with a time of 2:17:32, while Kenya’s Irine Cheptai secured third in 2:17:52.
On the men’s side, John Korir claimed the title in 2:02:43, the second-fastest time ever recorded in Chicago, just behind the late Kelvin Kiptum’s world record of 2:00:35 set in 2023.
