Athletics: Kenyan Chepngetich smashes world record in Chicago marathon
|Ruth Chepngetich s’est imposée en 2 h 09’57’’. EPA – TANNEN MAURY
Elle a battu le record du monde de la distance, de plus deux minutes, dimanche 13 octobre à Chicago.
Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich smashed the women's marathon world record by almost two minutes on Sunday, winning in Chicago in 2:09:57. The previous record was held by Ethiopian Tigist Assefa, who ran the 42.195 km in 2:11:53 on September 24, 2023 in Berlin.
Korir wins the men's race
In the men's race, her compatriot John Korir won, detached, in 2h 2 min 43 sec, succeeding the world record holder Kelvin Kiptum, who died in February at the age of 23 in a road accident.
“I dedicate this record to Kelvin (Kiptum), he also broke a world record here and he could have broken another one”, declared Chepngetich after the finish.
“I am very proud of myself. I had this world record in mind, it was my dream, and today everything was perfect: the weather, and my preparation."
A pace never before approached by women
Chepngetich, aged 30, achieved an extraordinary feat, running the entire race at a pace never before approached by women. At the 10th km, she was on the basis of 2h07:30, before dropping her pace very slightly, to become however the first woman in history to go below the symbolic barrier of 2h10.
2019 World Marathon Champion, she had already won the Chicago Marathon twice, in 2021 and 2022. Her personal best over the distance was 2h14: 18.