Thunderbolt in Chicago. This Sunday, Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum set the marathon world record in 2 hours and 35 seconds. He thus becomes the first runner in history to go below the two hours and one minute mark. The previous record, held by his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge since 2022, was two hours, one minute and nine seconds, or 34 seconds more than Kiptum’s time.
WORLD RECORD: We have a new man in town. Kelvin Kiptum just broke Eliud Kipchoge’s World Record with an unofficial time of 2:00:35! UNBELIEVABLE! pic.twitter.com/XfeMEzPveZ
— Chicago Marathon (@ChiMarathon) October 8, 2023
Already close to breaking the record in London in April, Kiptum, aged 23, was only competing in his third marathon in Illinois, but without Kipchoge, who won in Berlin in September.
Passed in 1 hour and 48 seconds halfway through the race, Kiptum managed as usual to accelerate further in the second half to let go of his compatriot Daniel Mateiko at the 33rd kilometer, before flying towards the finish line, in perfect weather conditions (between 7 and 10 degrees, overcast weather, light wind).
“I wasn’t necessarily ready for that, but a world record, I’m so happy! I knew I would beat this record one day,” declared the winner into the organizer’s microphone.
Less than a year after his first marathon in Valencia (2h01:53 in December 2022), Kiptum becomes the fastest athlete in history over the queen distance, where Eliud Kipchoge, aged 38, triumphed after a career built step by step, first on the track until he was 27.
Kiptum therefore won his only three marathons contested, in eleven months. He had already come close to the world record in April in London (2h01:25).
The young Kenyan has never run against Kipchoge: a clash is hoped for next year at the Paris Olympics, where his elder will aim for a third consecutive marathon title.
The women’s race was also the scene of an extraordinary performance. The Dutch Sifan Hassan, only six weeks after being a medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest (over 1500 and 5000 m), crushed her race in 2 h 13 min 44 sec, establishing the second best time in history.
Hassan (30 years old) achieved his feat only two weeks after the new world record of the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa in Berlin (2h11:53),
