Kenyan runner Ruth Chepngetich shattered the women’s marathon world record with plenty of time to spare.
She finished the Chicago Marathon in 2:09:56 on Sunday, slashing almost 2 minutes off the previous world record .
The 30-year-old is the first woman to run the 26.2 mile-distance in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Chepngetich placed 10th overall, with only nine men running faster.
It was a happier ending than her finish in the 2022 Chicago race , when she finished just 14 seconds shy of the women’s world record.
“I feel so great,” Chepngetich said after the race. “I’m very proud of myself. This is my dream. I fought a lot, thinking about the world record. The world record has come back to Kenya.”
She dedicated her feat to Kelvin Kiptum, a self-coached Kenyan marathon runner who died in a car crash earlier this year at age 24. He pushed the limits of long-distance running, and his marathon world record of 2:00:35 set in Chicago last year still stands.
Fellow Kenyan John Korir, 27, won the men’s race on Sunday, coming in at 2:02:43, the second-fastest time ever run in Chicago, behind Kiptum’s record.
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