Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum broke the marathon world record this Sunday, winning the race in Chicago in 2:00.35 hours, 34 seconds less than the previous maximum.
Kiptum, who had already threatened to break the record in London in April, took part in only his third marathon this Sunday, after surpassing the performance of his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge (2:01.09), which was set in Berlin in 2022.
The Kenyan athlete, who completed the half marathon in 1:00.08 hours, accelerated in the second half of the race, leaving the company of his compatriot Daniel Mateiko at kilometer 33, before heading to the finish alone in favorable conditions to go. weather conditions (between seven and 10 degrees, covered again).
“I wasn’t prepared for this, but it’s a world record, I’m very happy. I knew I would break this record one day,” Kiptum, 23, said at the end.
Just a year after his first marathon, in Valencia, which he won in 2:01.53, Kiptum became the fastest athlete in athletics’ queen distance, having won three races to date.
The Dutch Sifan Hassan, just six months after winning a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, clearly won the women’s race, achieving the second best score ever in the distance (2:13.44 hours).
Hassan, 30, reached the milestone just two weeks after Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa set the best time ever to win in Berlin in 2:13.44.
Source: DN
