Kenyans rule Chicago Marathon

Brigid Kosgei tops distaff side in record-breaking fashion

Former world record holder Paula Radcliffe meets Brigid Kosgei at the finish line after the Kenyan broke her record Sunday morning at the 2019 Chicago Marathon.

It was a sweep for Kenya as Brigid Kosgei won the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon in world record fashion while Lawrence Cherono ruled the men’s side on Sunday.

Kosgei raced her way to an early lead, breaking far away from her pack and continuing on pace to break not just a course but a world record with a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes and 4 seconds.

Kosgei beat the all-time record, which stood at 2:15:25, posted by Britain’s Paula Radcliffe in the 2003 London Marathon.

Kosgei’s personal record time was previously 2:18:20, which she set earlier this year in the London Marathon to become its youngest winner at 25 years old.

She earned $100,000 for the win and $75,000 for breaking the Chicago course record, which was 2:17:18, also held by Radcliffe.

Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia, who before today had a personal best of 2:24:02 from Tokyo in March, was second in 2:20:51, nearly 7 minutes behind Kosgei.

Gelete Burka of Ethiopia was third in 2:20:55.

Lawrence Cherono savors his second straight major marathon victory.

Cherono, 31, completed the 42.195-kilometer course with an unofficial time (as of this post) of 2:05.45, narrowly beating out Ethiopia’s Dejene Debela and Asefa Mengstu.

With two dedicated pacers ahead of her, Kosgei went out in a torrid first 5K at 15:28, which projects to a 2:10 marathon. Her pacers slowed the tempo slightly after that, but Kosgei was still well ahead of world record pace.

By the 10K mark, Kosgei, unbeaten this year, had a 32-second gap on her nearest pursuer. She passed the halfway mark in 1:06:59.

One of the world’s six major marathons, the Chicago race saw 45,000 runners from 135 countries, including the Philippines. An estimated 1.2 million people cheered them on.

Last year’s men’s winner, four-time Olympic winner Mo Farah of Britain, finished a disappointing eighth.

In her second marathon, Emma Bates was the top American finisher. She finished fourth in 2:25:27, which puts her ninth on the list of fastest US marathoners. (ABC, NBC, BBC, Runners World)