Ruth Chepngetich smashes women's marathon world record

Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich put on a performance for the ages as she obliterated the women's marathon world record in Chicago on Sunday, taking nearly two minutes off the previous best to win in an unofficial time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds.

Chepngetich ditched the competition by the halfway mark and ran through a chorus of cheers through the final straight as she claimed her third title in Chicago and crushed Ethiopian Tigst Assefa's previous record of 2:11:53, set last year in Berlin.

Ethiopia's Sutume Kebede crossed the line seven minutes and 36 seconds later while Kenyan Irine Cheptai (2:17:51) was third.

"This is my dream that has come true," said Chepngetich, whose time was originally recorded as 2:09:57 but was later adjusted.

Chepngetich set a blistering pace from the start, running the first five kilometres in 15 minutes flat and by the halfway mark she had built a 14-second cushion between herself and Kebede.

Television commentators were astonished as she grinded through the course, comparing her attempt at a sub-2:10 marathon to the moon landing, and she only seemed to gain momentum as she sprinted through the final two miles.

Chepngetich, the 2019 world champion, hunched over in utter exhaustion after breaking the tape and dedicated her performance to compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, who broke the men's world record a year ago in Chicago and died in a car crash four months later.

"World record was in my mind," she said in televised remarks. "Chicago, as I said in the press, is like home."

WORLD RECORD ‼️

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

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

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

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) October 13, 2024

In the men’s race, John Korir, brother of former Boston Marathon champion Wesley Korir, won with a personal best time of 2:02:43—the second-fastest time in the event's history. Korir improved on his fourth-place finish from last year and surpassed his third-place result from 2022. Ethiopia’s Huseydin Mohammed Esa took second place with a time of 2:04:39, while 2022 London Marathon champion Amos Kipruto finished third at 2:04:50.