Kiptum surprised to break Kipchoge's marathon record

23-year-old American runner Kelvin Kiptum admitted that he only set a goal to break the Chicago Marathon record, not thinking about surpassing the record of his senior legend Eliud Kipchoge like he did at the major tournament on October 8.

Kiptim celebrates with the world record plaque and the time he just set at the Chicago Marathon - 2 hours 0 minutes 35 seconds - after the major race on the morning of October 8. Photo: Chicago Marathon — Kiptim celebrates with the world record plaque and the time he just set at the Chicago Marathon - 2 hours 0 minutes 35 seconds - after the major race on the morning of October 8. Photo: *Chicago Marathon*

Before the 2023 Chicago Marathon, Kipchoge held the world record of 2 hours 1 minute 9 seconds set at Berlin 2022. This was the eighth time since 2003 that the men's marathon world record had been broken on the course of a major race in the German capital.

The Chicago Marathon's last world record was set in 1999, when Moroccan Khalid Khannouchi set a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 42 seconds. "The record has been in Berlin for a long time. It's time to bring it back to Chicago," Chicago Marathon Course Director Carey Pinkowski said ahead of this year's race.

Kiptum, who ran the second fastest marathon in history - 2 hours 1 minute 26 seconds at the London Marathon 2023 in April - is the man expected to make Pinkowski's statements come true. But before the race, although he thought it was not impossible to break Kipchoge's record, the Kenyan runner admitted that he had not yet thought about breaking his compatriot's achievement in Chicago this time. The 23-year-old's goal is only to break the Chicago Marathon record - 2 hours 3 minutes 45 seconds - set by another senior compatriot, Dennis Kimetto, in 2013.

Kiptum said he was well prepared, despite missing some early training sessions due to a groin injury. “I think I trained well,” the Kenyan said two days before the 2023 Chicago Marathon. “I ran less distance than expected, but I was still in good shape for the race.”

On the Chicago track on the morning of October 8, local time, Kiptum was part of a leading group of seven elites and four pacers, finishing 5km in 14 minutes and 26 seconds. This group also included two of Kiptum's compatriots, including Benson Kipruto - last year's champion with a PB of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 24 seconds, and Daniel Mateiko - who was running his first marathon. "I felt like I had good control of the initial pace," Kiptum told the media in a post-race interview.

Kiptum and Mateiko broke away, hitting a world record pace at the 10km mark of 28 minutes and 42 seconds, 30 seconds ahead of the chasing pack. But the 23-year-old admitted he wasn't yet thinking about breaking Kipchoge's time. "My main goal was to set the Chicago record, but fortunately it turned out to be a world record," Kiptum continued. "I wasn't confident about breaking the world record, but I thought I had the stamina to run really fast."

Compare the parameters of the two most recent marathon world records through each split run of Kiptum at Chicago 2023 and Kipchoge at Berlin 2022.

The Kenyan duo, with the help of pacer Ronald Kirui, continued to lead and crossed the halfway mark (21.095 km) in 1 hour 48 seconds, with Kipruto then dropping to fifth place.

Kiptum remained calm and thought about breaking away in the final half, like he did when he won the 2023 London Marathon on April 23. That was also his tactical choice on the course on October 8. "I started breaking away from the 30km mark," he recalled of competing in London.

Kiptum ran the 5km, from the 30 to 35 mark, in 13 minutes and 51 seconds to gradually lose Mateiko. He then reached the 35km mark in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 22 seconds, 49 seconds faster than Mateiko. "That was my plan, to start pushing hard from the 30km mark," the Kenyan runner added.

Kiptum ran the next 5km slower, at 14 minutes and 1 second, to cover the 40km mark in 1 hour, 54 minutes and 23 seconds - a figure that would surely put him ahead of Kipchoge's record. In the end, Kiptum finished in 2 hours and 35 seconds, 34 seconds faster than Kipchoge's old record and became the first runner to run a sub-2:1 marathon in an official competition. Kipruto followed in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 2 seconds, and Bashir Abdi in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 32 seconds.

Kiptum takes first place, sets world record at Chicago Marathon 2023 — Kiptum wins, sets world record at Chicago Marathon 2023.

The Chicago Marathon, founded in 1977, is a member of the World Marathon Majors, the six largest races on the planet, along with races in Boston, New York City, London, Berlin and Tokyo. The race on October 8 recorded a new record for this race with Kiptum's time of 2 hours 0 minutes 35 seconds and the women's record of Dutch runner Sifan Hassan with 2 hours 13 minutes 44 seconds.

Hong Duy

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