On Sunday, Kelvin Kiptum established a world record in the Chicago Marathon, finishing in 2 hours, 35 seconds, breaking fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge’s previous record by 34 seconds.
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands also took advantage of the excellent marathon weather by winning the women’s race in 2:13:44, the second-fastest time ever for a woman at the 26.2-mile course.
Kiptum won the London Marathon in 2:01:25, shaving over a minute off the world record set last year in Berlin by Kipchoge, the most successful runner of all time.
“I knew I was coming for a course record, but a world record – I am so happy,” Kiptum said. “A world record was not on my mind today, but I knew one day I would be a world record-holder.”
Kipchoge also broke the 2-hour mark in a specially designed Vienna exhibition in 2019, albeit this does not qualify for the world record.
Hassan’s pace is second only to Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia’s women’s world record of 2:11:53 achieved last month in Berlin. Assefa broke the women’s world record by over two minutes.
