Not so long ago, the idea of anyone running an official marathon in two hours was the stuff of science fiction. But on the streets of Chicago it became a dizzying reality as the Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum ran 2hr 0min 35sec to shatter the men’s world record.
As the 23-year-old ran the final few hundred metres along Columbus Drive, he even had time to blow kisses and wave to the crowd. His time not only took 34sec off Eliud Kipchoge’s old best but was another staggering reminder of how much supershoe technology has changed the sport.
It is surely a matter of time before the sub-two-hour barrier is broken in an official race. Kipchoge did do it in a time trial in 2019 – that, though, did not count as a record because he used a number of measures not permitted under World Athletics rules.
Kiptum, who was wearing Nike Dev 163 prototype shoes, said he had not initially targeted Kipchoge’s old record of 2:01:09. But that rapidly changed towards the end of the race, when he ran the 22nd mile in an astonishing 4min 18sec.
“A world record was not in my mind, but I knew one day I would do it,” said Kiptum, who beat Benson Kipruto by 3min 27sec. “I’m feeling so happy.”
Until just over 10 months ago, the 23-year-old Kiptum had never run a marathon. But victories in Valencia in December and London in April, where he ran the second-fastest time ever, marked him out as a special talent.
Kiptum’s world record came two weeks after the Ethiopian Tigist Assefa broke the women’s world record in Berlin, wearing new £400 Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes. For a time it looked as if that would also be broken in Chicago, by the Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan.
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She slowed towards the end but her time of 2:13:44 was still the second-fastest in a women’s race. “The last five kilometres I suffered,” said Hassan. “But I won again in my second marathon in a fantastic time; I couldn’t be happier!”