Kelvin Kiptum Breaks the Men's Marathon Record in Chicago
He was already the the second-fastest man ever over the marathon distance, but Kelvin Kiptum went one better, breaking the men's marathon record at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday in the astonishing time of 2:00:35.
The 23-year-old had originally planned to race the Berlin Marathon in September, where he would have gone head-t0-head with marathon world recorder and five-time Berlin Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge but switched to run the Chicago Marathon instead.
Kiptum has not been racing for long, but has already set an incredible array of marathon times, winning London Marathon earlier this year in 2:01:25 – just 16 seconds behind Kipchoge's world record at the time (2:01:09). This followed his debut at the Valencia Marathon last year – which he won in what was the fastest debut in marathon history.
While Kipchoge has run under two hours under non-legal race conditions - including drafting and laser pace lights - only three men had ever gone under two hours and two minutes before (Kipchoge in 2:01:09, Kiptum in 2:01:25 and Kenenisa Bekele in 2:01:41). No one had ever broken two hours and one minute before today.
Meanwhile in the women's race, Sifan Hassan won in her own inimitable style. Running for much of the race with reigning champion Ruth Chepng'etich at under world record pace, she even dropped back at one point. However, as we saw in her debut in London Marathon last year, Hassan does not play by the rules, and came back, overtook Chepng'etich and dropped her at around 20 miles.
Hassan looked like she was digging deep in the last few miles and had drifted away from world record pace but still finished in 2:13:44, the second fastest women's marathon ever. This, off the back of a busy World Championships schedule just six weeks ago, where she won a bronze medal in the 5,000m and a silver in the 10,000m.
Hassan's time would have been a world record, if that had not been broken last month at Berlin marathon by Tigst Assefa. It also smashes Paula Radcliffe's European record (previously the world record) by almost 2 minutes. Sifan Hassan now has run not just the second marathon in history but also the second fastest mile and 10,000m.
What is Kelvin Kiptum's Career History?
In a pre-race interview with Olympics.com, Kiptum said he was not planning on going for a record in Chicago – at least 'for now'. However, with only 70 meters of elevation gain, and with absolutely perfect weather conditions, today was the perfect day in Chicago to take it down.
Kiptum grew up in Chepkorio, surrounded by some of Kenya’s greatest runners, including village mate Geoffrey Kamworor, a double New York Marathon winner.
Dreaming of one day becoming a marathoner, at the age of 13 he joined a village running group, and just five years later, he won his first road race – the 2018 Eldoret Half Marathon – aged just 18.
With no running tracks in his village, he didn't enter marathon running from a track career like Kipchoge or Bekele, telling Olympics.com he didn't have the money to travel to Eldoret 40km away to do track sessions.
'When I started training, it was with the marathoners and road racers, and I just found myself running road races so young,' he said.
Kiptum ran his first international race in 2019 – the Singelloop Utrecht 10K road race, where he finished second in 28:17. Later that year, he competed in Sweden’s Göteborgsvarvet half marathon, finishing sixth in 1:01:36. Five half marathons later and he took his first win at the Le Lion Montbéliard to Belfort half in 2019.
But it was his triumph at the high-profile Valencia Marathon in 2021, where he made his 26.2 debut, that he announced his talents on the world stage. Posting 2:01:53, his debut marathon time was over three minutes faster than Kipchoge's 2013 debut at the Hamburg Marathon (2:05:30).
In June he was selected to represent Team Kenya in the 2023 World Athletics Championships marathon, but declined to focus on an autumn marathon instead - a decision that has most certainly paid off.
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