In Chicago, Ruth Chepngetich breaks the world record for the marathon.

Ivy Irungu

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.”

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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.

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