David GOMBE
Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum smashed the men’s marathon world record in Chicago on Sunday after winning in two hours and 35 seconds.
The winning time saw Kiptum beat compatriot Eliud Kipchoge’s previous mark by more than 30 seconds.
“I feel so happy. I wasn’t prepared,” he said at the finish line. “A world record was not in my mind today.”
“I saw the time in front of me, I said let me try maybe I can run under 2:00,” he said. “I knew one day I would be a world record holder.” Said the Kenyan
Kiptum who shattered the London Marathon course record this year and was determined to make magic again in the Windy City as he sped up through the 35-kilometre mark before thrusting his arms in the air to cheers from the crowd down the final stretch.
The 23-year-old had not originally targeted the record but said he knew that twice Olympic champion Kipchoge’s previous mark of 2:01:09 was within reach in the final kilometres, as he dug deep to make history.
Defending champion Benson Kipruto was second in 2:04:02 and Bashir Abdi was third in 2:04:32.
Meanwhile, Dutch star Sifan Hassan moved to No.2 on the women’s all-time list, running 2:13:44 to triumph in the World Athletics Platinum Label road race. The only woman to have ever gone faster is Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, who set a world record of 2:11:53 to win the BMW Berlin Marathon last month.
