Kenyans dominate Chicago Marathon

Kenya had a good outing at the 2022 edition of the Chicago Marathon, winning in both the men's and women's fields as Benson Kipruto and Ruth Chepngetich emerged victorious.

For Chepngetich, it would have been more than a win if he had dipped below the 02:14:04 set by Brigid Kosgei in 2019 but she run 14 seconds above that in a race that seemed promising for a new world record.

USA's Emily Sisson came second four minutes later, with Kenya's Vivian Kiplagat coming home third on 02:20:52.

By winning the men's category, Kipruto emulated his brother Dickson Chumba who also won the race in 2015, clocking 2:09:25 then

Kipruto stormed to victory in 02:04:24 while Ethiopia's Seifu Tura closed the line second 25 seconds later, with Kipruto's compatriot sealing the podium places and completing Kenya's double podium in 02:05:01.

Bernard Koech led for the better part of the race but he withered off in the latter stages and had to settle for a fourth-place finish.

The 28-year-old Chepngetich had a terrific start, getting through the first 5KM in 00:15:11. So fast her start was, that the projected finishing time was 02:08:03 which if it happened would have seen her smash the women's record by a mile.

With just over 7KM left to go, Chepngetich opened a five-minute gap between herself and the chasing pack, intensifying the gap she had kept from the beginning of the race.

She was making her first appearance on the road since exiting her world championship title defense race in Oregon due to health reasons despite having been in a primed position at the time of her exit back then.

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Chepngetich, the fourth fastest woman in the history of marathon running, took the crown in Chicago in 2021 with a time of 2:22:31.

She started her 2022 season off strong with a win and course record at the Nagoya Marathon, but dropped out of the world championships race.