Kiplimo and Feysa win the Chicago Marathon with decisive victories
Ethiopian Hawi Feysa won the women’s race handily, while Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo topped the men’s field at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, setting a new time of two hours, two minutes, and twenty-three seconds in his second over-distance event.
Kiplimo, who holds the world record for half marathons, finished the race one minute and thirty-one seconds ahead of Kenyan Amos Kipruto, while Alex Masai, a Kenyan, finished third in 2:04:37.
With five miles remaining, Kiplimo, who placed second in his first marathon in London this year, had pulled away by the 30-kilometer mark and had created an almost one-minute lead.
He had nothing to worry about as he jogged alone into the last straight and dropped down in pure tiredness a few meters after the finish line. He glanced over his shoulder a few times during the last mile of the race.
After the race, he told a TV reporter, “To come here to win the race is a big achievement for me,” adding that he was eager to run even faster.
Feysa, who placed third on the Tokyo podium, looked tearful during the last mile and collapsed to her knees after crossing the finish line in 2:14:56. Megertu Alemu, a fellow countrywoman, took second in 2:17:18.
Magdalena Shauri of Tanzania finished third in 2:18:03.
Feysa thrived in Chicago’s perfect, bright weather, running the final five miles of the race alone and cutting her personal best time by more than two minutes.
She said, “Winning here, it’s been amazing,” through a translator. “I worked really hard, trained really hard to have this victory.”
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The late Kelvin Kiptum broke the men’s record in 2023 with a time of 2:00:35, and his fellow Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich broke the women’s record in 2024 with a time of 2:09:56. The renowned flat course is known for producing fast speeds.
Chepngetich’s presence and usage of a prohibited substance resulted in an interim suspension in July.
Conner Mantz provided the home crowd a delight by breaking Khalid Khannouchi’s 23-year-old U.S. record, placing fourth overall in 2:04:43, even though there were no world records set this time.
In London, Khannouchi set the previous American record of 2:05:38.
American Susannah Scaroni won the women’s wheelchair race in 1:38:14, defeating Swiss competitor Manuela Schar by 49 seconds, while Marcel Hug of Switzerland dominated the men’s wheelchair race in 1:23:20, finishing more than four minutes ahead of David Weir of Britain.
