Ruth Chepngetich breaks the women’s world record at the Chicago Marathon

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Ruth Chepngetich breaks the women’s world record at the Chicago Marathon

Kenyan distance runner Ruth Chepngetich completed the Chicago Marathon in 2:09:56 on Sunday, breaking the world record for the women’s full marathon. Chepngetich became the first woman to ever run under 2:10 over the full marathon distance.

WORLD RECORD ‼️

🇰🇪’s Ruth Chepngetich destroys the Chicago marathon world record with an incredible 2:09:57 😮‍💨

That’s almost 2 minutes faster than the previous world record 🤯

She finishes in 10th place overall @ChiMarathon 👏 pic.twitter.com/ftM1J0j1F1

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) October 13, 2024

Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa held the previous women’s world record of 2:11:53, a feat she achieved at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.

The 30-year-old Chepngetich won gold in the women’s marathon at the 2019 World Championships. Going into Sunday, Chepngetich’s personal best for a full marathon was 2:14:18, set two years ago on October 9, 2022. Her record for a half marathon is 1:04:02, achieved on April 4, 2021.

Sunday marked Chepngetich’s third victory at the Chicago Marathon after taking gold in the 2021 and 2022 events. She also won bronze at the 2020 London Marathon.

She clocked a time of 1:04:16 at the halfway mark on Sunday – the fifth fastest time in history for the half marathon distance, according to World Athletics. She dedicated her world record to the late Kelvin Kiptum, a Kenyan runner who died in a car accident in February after breaking the men’s marathon world record in Chicago last year.

“I feel so great. I am very proud of myself,” Chepngetich said on Sunday, according to World Athletics. “This is my dream. I fought a lot, thinking about the world record. The world record has returned to Kenya.”

Sutume Asefa Kebede of Ethiopia finished second with a time of 2:17:32, while Irine Cheptai of Kenya came third (2:17:51). Among the men, John Korir came first with a time of 2:02:44. He defeated Huseydin Mohamed Esa of Ethiopia in second place (2:04:39) and Amos Kipruto of Kenya in third place (2:04:50).