Chicago Marathon Announces Elite International Fields

By Adam Kopet

The Bank of American Chicago Marathon organizers announced the elite international fields for this year's race Wednesday. The men's and women's fields for the Oct. 13 event are led by 2018 Chicago Marathon champions Mo Farah of Great Britain and Brigid Kosgei of Kenya.

Kosgei has elevated herself to become one of the top marathoners in the world. Since her 2018 victory, she has gone undefeated, including winning this year's London Marathon in a personal best 2:18:20. That ranks her seventh on the all-time performer list.

Farah has taken a slightly different path in his return to Chicago. He too competed at the London Marathon, but between the controversy that followed him from his training stint in Ethiopia to having to face Eliud Kipchoge, he finished fifth in 2:05:39. Farah has also indicated he may compete in the 10,000 meters at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in the weeks before Chicago.

Should Farah make that decision, there will be plenty of men capable of stopping his Chicago Marathon title defense. Five men have run faster than Farah in this year's field, including Getaneh Molla and Herpasa Negasa of Ethiopia, Lawrence Cherono and Dickson Chumba of Kenya and Hassan El Abbassi of Bahrain. Molla owns the course record of 2:03:34 from winning the 2018 Dubai Marathon, Negasa has run 2:03:40, Cherono is the 2019 Boston Marathon champion and Chumba is a previous winner in Chicago.

Galen Rupp should not be overlooked when it comes to the Chicago Marathon. He won the race in 2017 and finished fifth in last year's race. Shortly afterward, he had surgery to for a severe case of Haglund's deformity. He began running earlier this year and is expected to be in full health and fitness in October.

The women's field, behind Kosgei, there are three other women in the international field who have run under 2:30. Betsy Saina of Kenya leads the way, having run 2:22:56 in her 2018 Paris Marathon victory. Madai Perez of Mexico and Lisa Weightman of Australia round out the trio of sub-2:30 runners.

Former New Mexico All-American Alice Wright, of Great Britain and the HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite, will be making her marathon debut in Chicago.

With the international field depth as it is for the women's race, there is a strong chance of Americans making it on the podium. Jordan Hasay finished third in 2017, running 2:20:57, ranking her second on the American all-time performer list.

Amy Cragg had also been in position to challenge for a podium spot in Chicago, but Wednesday's release noted that she, along with Chris Derrick and Brogan Austin had withdrawn from the race.