Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) clearly missed the marathon world record he was aiming for in Chicago. In his triumph in the US metropolis, the 24-year-old crossed the finish line after 42.195 km in 2:02:23 hours, making him 1:48 minutes slower than Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum at the same place.
Kiplimo, who holds the world record in the half marathon, dictated the action from the start in what was only the second marathon of his career and was on course for a world record for a long time, but was no longer able to maintain his pace at the end. Nevertheless, he improved his personal best by 1:14 minutes and is now the seventh fastest marathon runner in history.
Behind Kiplimo, Amos Kipruto (2:03:54 hours) crossed the finish line in second place, while Alex Masai (2:04:37/both Kenya) came third. In the women’s race, the Ethiopian Hawi Feysa Gejia was unbeatable after 2:14:56 hours.
Kiplimo clocked a strong 2:03:37 hours in his marathon debut in London in April and was flirting with the world record a bit on the ultra-fast course in Chicago. “For London I ran an average of a maximum of 200 km per week, but for Chicago it was an average of 250 km per week, in some weeks even up to 300 km,” Kiplimo had said beforehand: “My legs have adapted perfectly to this mileage. I feel good. I’m ready.” But then he probably had to pay a little tribute to his enormous initial pace at the end.
In the past two years, the Chicago Marathon has made headlines with world records. In 2023, Kiptum covered the route in the US metropolis in 2:00:35 hours – four months later the Kenyan died in a tragic car accident.
In 2024, Ruth Chepngetich (Kenya) became the first woman to stay under the 2:10 hour mark with her 2:09:56 hours. In July, the 2019 world champion was provisionally suspended due to a positive doping test.