Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich smashed the women’s world marathon record at the Chicago Marathon yesterday, after previously winning the World Major race in 2021 and 2022.
She finished with a new record of 2:09:56, beating Tigist Assefa’s previous record of 2:11:53 by almost two minutes and becoming the first woman in history to run a marathon in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Ethopia’s Sutume Asefa Kebede finished second, almost 8 minutes afterwards.
Chepngetich averaged 4:57.4 per mile throughout the race, so it was clear she was on for a very fast time. She reached the halfway point with a time of 1:04:16 – unofficially the fifth fastest women’s half marathon of all time.
She told reporters after the race that it was a dream come true to win. “I feel so great,” she said. “I’m proud of myself and I thank God for the victory and the world record.”
She takes home $100,000 for her win, along with $50,000 for breaking the course record.
The Chicago Marathon is an Abbott Marathon World Major, along with historic races like the London Marathon and the Boston Marathon.
