Michael Reeves/Getty Images
When Kelvin Kiptum broke the goal tape in Chicago, there were no other runners in the distance. The 23-year-old Kenyan not only won on Sunday, he also set a new world record.
Kiptam crossed the finish line at the Chicago Marathon in an unofficial time of 2 hours and 35 seconds. If approved, Kiptum will beat the record set by two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge at the 2022 Berlin Marathon by 34 seconds.
This also makes Kiptam the first athlete in the world to run a marathon under 2 hours and 1 minute.
“I knew I was coming for a world record, not a course record. I’m very happy,” Kiptum said, according to World Athletics. “I wasn’t thinking about world records today, but I knew that someday I would become a world record holder.”
By the 5-kilometer mark (3.1 miles), Kiptum and Daniel Mateiko, also from Kenya, had broken away from the pack of runners. The two remained close until around 30 kilometers (18.6 miles), when Kiptum moved forward and ran hard until Matejko was out of sight.
Matejko withdrew from the race shortly after, and compatriot Benson Kipruto finished in second place. Belgian runner Bashir Abdi took third place. Four American players also finished in the top 10: Connor Mantz, Clayton Young, Galen Rupp and Sam Chelanga.
In the women’s race, Olympic track champion Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) won in 2 hours 13 minutes 44 seconds.
Sunday’s race was Kiptum’s third marathon and first in the United States. At the London Marathon in April, Kiptum ran the second-best marathon time of 2 hours, 1 minute, 25 seconds.