Ruth Chepngetich breaks women’s marathon world record

Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich set a new women’s marathon world record at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, finishing the 26.2-mile race in 2:09:56.

She became the first woman to break a marathon time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, breaking the previous record of 2:11:53 held by Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.

Chepngetich has a strong history in the race, winning in 2021 and 2022 and finishing second last year. She ran the first half of the race in just 1:04:16.

Chepngetich won $100,000 for her fantastic performance and another $50,000 for breaking the record.

Kenya also won the men’s race, with runner John Korir finishing in 2:02:44.

Chepngetich and Korir ran the marathon in honor of late fellow runner Kelvin Kiptum, who broke the men’s world record at the Chicago Marathon in 2023.