An unbelievable run from Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei saw her win the Chicago marathon in 2:14:04 to smash Paula Radcliffe’s long-standing marathon record of 2:15:25.
After more than 16 years of efforts from the top female marathon runners in the world, the day that many thought would never come has arrived in emphatic fashion.
Kosgei was rampant from the off, quickly leading the race and surging into a pace that would have got her 2:10 had she kept it up.
And while she did drop back as the race went on, she surged on ahead to complete her historic run, beating her previous marathon PB by over four minutes.
This completes a truly memorable weekend for the marathon, adding to Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:59.40 marathon in Vienna the previous day, albeit with this race carried out under regular marathon conditions.
Lawrence Cherono meanwhile won a hotly contested men’s race in 2:05:45, just managing to hold off Dejene Debala, while Asefa Mengstu and Ben Karoki also finished very close behind.
Elsewhere Daniel Romanchuk took a dominant win in the men’s Wheelchair race with 1:30:26 to win by over three minutes, while Manuela Schär was also unstoppable in the women’s race, defending her title with ease in 1:41:08.
Full results from the Chicago marathon can be found here.
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