Bank of America Chicago Marathon , 8 October 2023
ROAD RUNNING
Kiptum Clocks First Sub-2:01
Bank of America Chicago Marathon , 8 October 2023
In just his third marathon , and still just 23 years of age , Kenya ’ s Kelvin Kiptum clocked a tremendous 2:00:35 at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon to become the first athlete to break 2:01 in a recordeligible marathon , and took a massive 34 seconds off the World Record . The last time a men ’ s World Record was set in this World Athletics Platinum Label road race was when Khalid Khannouchi ran 2:05:42 in 1999 , and in a remarkable day of racing , Dutch star Sifan Hassan moved to number two on the women ’ s all-time list , running 2:13:44 , as she took the women ’ s title .
Kiptum made his marathon debut last December in Valencia , Spain , posting 2:01:53 for the fastest ever debut . Just five months later he followed that up with a 2:01:25 at the London Marathon , which was only 16 seconds shy of Eliud Kipchoge ’ s World Record of 2:01:09 , set in the 2022 Berlin Marathon – and many observers felt that Kiptum may have beaten the record if he hadn ’ t looked over his shoulder several times in the latter stages of the race and broken his momentum slightly .
Given those two performances , many have predicted that Kiptum could rival Eliud Kipchoge to become the first official sub-two hour runner in marathoning history , and in Chicago , less than six months on from
Kiptum ’ s Big Day
The 10 Fastest Men ’ s Marathons Times
becoming the second-fastest marathoner of all time in London , he took a massive step closer to that barrier as he claimed the World Record for himself , by going another 50 seconds faster than his previous best .
Kiptum pushed the pace throughout the race , breaking away with compatriot Daniel Mateiko after just 5km . Led by pacemaker Ronald Kirui , they passed 10km in 28:42 , on World Record pace , but then slowed ever so slightly to reach the halfway in 1:00:48 , on course for a 2:01:36 finish . Kiptum had been running in a hat , but that came off as they entered the second half of the race , and after 30km was passed in 1:26:31 , he kicked and dropped Mateiko . “ That ’ s my strategy – at 19 miles , 20 miles , I made a move ,” Kiptum said afterwards .
A blistering 5km split of 13:51 took him to the 35km checkpoint in 1:40:22 , and now he was on sub-2:01 pace . He passed 40km in 1:54:23 and sped up still more , storming over the finish line with the incredible figures of 2:00:35 on the clock . Kiptum even had enough energy to celebrate his historic performance on the way to the finish line , pointing to the crowds as he approached the tape . Finishing a distant second was defending champion Benson Kipruto ( 2:04:02 ), with Bashir Abdi third in 2:04:32 .
Watch Kelvin Kiptum ’ s final kay of his World Record run in Chicago .
1 2:00:35 Kelvin Kiptum ( Kenya ) Chicago , USA 8 Oct 2023 2 2:01:09 Eliud Kipchoge ( Kenya ) Berlin , Germany 25 Sep 2022 3 2:01:25 Kelvin Kiptum ( Kenya ) London , Great Britain 23 Apr 2023 4 2:01:39 Eliud Kipchoge ( Kenya ) Berlin , Germany 16 Sep 2018 5 2:01:41 Kenenisa Bekele ( Ethiopia ) Berlin , Germany 29 Sep 2019 6 2:01:53 Kelvin Kiptum ( Kenya ) Valencia ( ESP ) 4 Dec 2022 7 2:02:37 Eliud Kipchoge ( Kenya ) London ( GBR ) 28 Apr 2019 8 2:02:40 Eliud Kipchoge ( Kenya ) Tokyo ( JPN ) 6 Mar 2022 9 2:02:42 Eliud Kipchoge ( Kenya ) Berlin 24 Sep 2023 10 2:02:48 Birhanu Legese ( Ethiopia ) Berlin , Germany 29 Sep 2019
Kelvin Kiptum on his way to a brilliant win and World Record
Kiptum now has three of the six fastest times in history , and only Kipchoge ( 2:01:09 and 2:01:39 ) and Kenenisa Bekele ( 2:01:41 ) have ever gone faster than Kiptum ’ s slowest time ! “ I knew I was coming for a course record , but a World Record – I am so happy !” he said afterwards . “ A World Record was not on my mind today , but I knew one day I would be a World Record-holder .”
What Makes a World Record ?
For a marathon performance to be ratified as a World Record by World Athletics , the race must be 42.195km long , and the route must be accurately measured with a calibrated bicyclemounted Jones Counter . Furthermore , the route must meet two criteria that rule out artificially fast times produced on courses aided by downhill slope or a tailwind , including :
• The start and finish points , measured along a theoretical straight line between them , shall not be further apart than 50 % of the race distance .
• The drop in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed an average of one in a thousand , i . e . 1m per km .
In 2011 , Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai clocked 2:03:02 at the Boston Marathon , making it the ( then ) fastest marathon ever run , almost a minute faster than the ( then ) World Record 2:03:59 , but due to the point-topoint orientation and overall elevation drop of the Boston Marathon , the course is not eligible for World Record consideration .
43