Ruth Chepngetich became the first woman to run a marathon in under 2 hours 10 minutes, beating the previous world record by almost two minutes in one of the most exceptional feats of distance running ever achieved.
The 30-year-old Kenyan immediately dedicated the victory to her compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, who became the first man to clock under 2:1 in the same race exactly a year ago before dying in a car crash in February.
The 2:10 barrier has long been considered unbreakable for a woman – and her finishing time of 2:09:56 is more than five minutes faster than Paula Radcliffe’s 2003 world record, which stood for 16 years.
It was also only upgraded by 22 British people.
It was Chepngetich’s third Chicago Marathon victory and, such was her dominance, she finished almost eight minutes ahead of Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede and broke her personal best by almost five minutes.
“It’s a moment we can’t really understand – a moment we never thought possible,” said Britain’s Jo Pavey, a former European 10,000m champion, who was commentating on the race for Eurosport.
Like Kiptum, Chepngetich also wore the Nike Alphafly 3 “super shoe” in his attempt to surpass the world record of 2:11:53 set by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa in Berlin last year, with a pair of Adidas Pro Evo 1 at £400. sparked a new phase in the battle for carbon road sneakers that transformed long-distance running, but Nike now holds both world records again. The Alphafly 3 – with its air bubble and ZoomX foam – went on general sale earlier this year for £284.99.
“I dedicate this world record to Kelvin Kiptum,” Chepngetich said. “I am so happy. I don’t know how to explain. The world record is my dream, now it has come true. I fought a lot thinking about the world record and now I have achieved it. I am so grateful This year the weather was perfect and I prepared well for the world record.
Another Kenyan, John Korir, won Sunday’s men’s race in 2:02:43, setting the sixth-fastest marathon time in history.
Kiptum ran 2:00:35 to set the men’s world record last year. Eliud Kipchoge, the former men’s world record holder, ran less than two hours in a specially paced race in Vienna in 2019, but that does not count as an official time.