Lawrence Cherono and Brigid Kosgei Win Chicago Marathon

By Adam Kopet

Brigid Kosgei of Kenya broke the women's marathon world record Sunday at the Chicago Marathon, running 2:14:04. That took down Paula Radcliffe's 2:15:25 from the 2003 London Marathon by more than a minute. It was the fifth world record to be set at the history of the Chicago Marathon.

RESULTS

Kosgei took the race from the beginning and was alone with her pacemakers from within the first few miles. She finished the first five kilometers in 15:28, 2:10:32 pace. That pace would have broken the world record by nearly five minutes.

As the race continued, Kosgei did slow. She reached halfway in 1:06:59, which put her on 2:13:58 pace.

In the second half, Kosgei found a solid rhythm. With the aid of the pacemakers, one of which stayed in the race through about 40 kilometers, Kosgei clicked off the miles. Her 22nd mile was reportedly run in 4:50 and her 24th mile run in 4:45, showing she still had some speed in her legs.

Kosgei came into the final stretch of the race with the crowds cheering. Her winning time took 1:21 off the 16-year-old world record in what turned out to be an Eliud Kipchoge-like performance. She also broke Radcliffe's course record, which was set exactly 17 years before.

Kosgei was helped by ideal conditions. The temperature at the start of the race was 41 degrees. The forecasted winds never fully developed, helping Kosgei and other runners maintain fast paces.

After the race, Kosgei talked about how she expects the world record to drop further soon. She said, "Even 2:10 is possible for a lady." Whether she can run that fast someday, she does not know.

Behind Kosgei, the Ethiopian duo of Ababel Yeshaneh and Gelete Burka finished second and third, running 2:20:51 and 2:20:55, respectively. Burka charged hard over the final meters to close the gap on her compatriot, but fell just short of Yeshaneh.

Emma Bates finished as the top American in fourth place. She used a strong second half to move up through the field. Her 2:25:27 broke her personal best by nearly three minutes from her 2018 USATF Marathon Championships at last year's California International Marathon in her marathon debut.

Bates came into the race with an intriguing story, partly because she continues to be so new to the distance. This was her second marathon, but her build-up seemed to be near perfect, according to her pre-race interviews. That preparation paid off with her strong race as she adds her name to the list of favorites for the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon.

Three other American women finished under 2:30. Stephanie Bruce was sixth in 2:27:47. That broke her personal best of 2:29:20 from last year. Lindsey Flanagan also improved her personal best from last year, finishing seventh in 2:28:08. Laura Thweatt returned from injury to finish eighth in 2:29:06.

Jordan Hasay, the second-fastest American woman in the marathon, started the race but dropped out early in the race. According to her agent, Ricky Simms, Hasay felt a sharp pain in her hamstring around the second mile. She tried to stretch it out and continue, but ended up dropping out shortly after five kilometers.

In the men's race, Lawrence Cherono of Kenya showed his sprint finish to win the Boston Marathon in April was no fluke. He won again Sunday, in another sprint finish, winning in 2:05:45.

The race saw three of the last four Chicago champions on the starting line: Dickson Chumba (2015), Galen Rupp (2017) and Mo Farah (2018). However, none of those three runners factored into the picture at the end of the race.

Rupp was the first returning winner to drop away. He ran with the leaders through 10 kilometers, but he could not handle the early 2:04 pace. Rupp dropped out shortly before the 23-mile mark and reportedly received medical attention on the side of the course. His agent, Simms, told members of the media that Rupp suffered from a tight calf beginning around the time he dropped from the lead pack and was unable to continue late in the race.

Farah remained with the lead pack through eight miles, but like Rupp, he could not maintain the early pace set by the lead runners. He ran with Rupp at times in the middle of the race, often leading his former training partner by a few meters.

Chumba was an early leader in the race, pushing the pace at times and opening a lead of a few strides over his competitors.

Early on, the leading men ran close to the course record pace of 2:03:45, but as the race progressed they slowly fell off that as the leaders began to size each other up in the second half of the race. They reached halfway in 1:02:14.

Chumba began to push the pace after 30 kilometers, but his lead was short lived. He fell back shortly after.

The men's pack was down to five men at 35 kilometers. Cherono and fellow Kenyan Bedan Karoki were there, as were the Ethiopian trio of Dejene Debela, Asefa Mengstu and Seifu Tura.

By 24 miles, the lead pack was down to four, with Tura dropping back. All four men entered the final turn to the finish together. Karoki was the first to fade, with Mengstu trying to stay with the sprinting Debela and Cherono, who pulled into the lead in the final 30 meters to win in 2:05:45.

Debela took runner-up honors in 2:05:46. Mengstu was another two seconds back, with Karoki finishing fourth in 2:05:53.

Chumba finished seventh in 2:09:11. It was his first time finishing off the podium in Chicago. Farah finished one spot back from Chumba, running his slowest marathon of his career in 2:09:58.

The American men ran well with four of them running 2:10. Jake Riley led the way with a ninth place finish in 2:10:36. Jerrell Mock, making his marathon debut, finished 10th in 2:10:37. Parker Stinson and Andrew Bumbalough finished 11th and 12th, running 2:10:53 and 2:10:56, respectively.

Other than Rupp, the leading American men ran together as a pack through much of the race. A group of 11 Americans passed halfway in 1:05:25, leading to major breakthroughs for a number of athletes.

Speaking of the Olympic Trials marathon, Stinson said, "I think it just got a whole lot more interesting after today."