Ruth Chepngetich out to bag third Chicago Marathon title in loaded field

Ruth Chepngetich hopes to bag her third title when she lines up for the 46th edition of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon set for 13 October.

Chepngetich, the 2021 and 2022 Chicago champion, was runner-up in the same race last year, falling to Sifan Hassan. She will be out to reclaim the title and make up for her ninth-place finish at this year’s London Marathon in April.

The fourth fastest woman in history, Chepngetich, goes up against compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei, a TCS London and TCS New York City Marathon Champion who was fourth in the 2023 Chicago Marathon.

Jepkosgei headlines stellar women's field at Antrim Coast half marathon

The duo’s toughest competition is likely to come from this year’s fastest women’s marathoner, Sutume Kebede of Ethiopia.

Her 2:15:55 victory in the 2024 Tokyo Marathon makes her the eighth fastest woman of all time. That performance came just two months after Kebede set the record for the fastest half marathon ever completed in the United States at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in January with her winning time of 1:04:37.

“I am extremely happy to come back to Chicago and run on a course that has proven to be very fast,” Kebede, who had a disappointing finish in the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, told organisers. “After seeing what my teammate Kelvin Kiptum did last year, I want to come to Chicago to do something great.”

Kebede is part of a training group that once included the late Kiptum who was killed in a car crash in February, just four months after setting the marathon world record in Chicago.

The second and third fastest American women of all time will join the three East African stars on the start line.

Former American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato, who has been part of the broadcast team for the past two years, will return to the start line this year.

Betsy Saina, who placed fifth in this year’s Tokyo Marathon, will look to record her first Chicago finish after dropping out of the race in 2019 due to illness.

“I have a special history with the Chicago Marathon,” said D’Amato who finished fourth here in 2021. “The past two years I’ve run my mouth in the lead vehicle for NBC. I’m excited to get back to running my legs.”

Other American contenders include Sara Hall and Annie Frisbie, both top 10 finishers at the 2024 U.S. Olympics Team Trials - Marathon, and Emma Bates, the 2021 Chicago runner-up.

Elite Women’s field

Ruth Chepngetich KEN 2:14:18 (Chicago, 2022)

Sutume Kebede    ETH 2:15:55 (Tokyo, 2024)

Joyciline Jepkosgei        KEN 2:16:24 (London, 2024)

Degitu Azimeraw ETH 2:17:58 (London, 2021)

Ashete Bekere Dido       ETH 2:17:58 (Tokyo, 2022)

Hiwot Gebrekidan ETH 2:17:59 (Valencia, 2023)

Irine Cheptai        KEN 2:18:22 (Hamburg, 2024)

Keira D'Amato    USA 2:19:12 (Houston, 2022)

Betsy Saina USA 2:19:17 (Tokyo, 2024)

Dorcas Tuitoek    KEN 2:20:02 (Amsterdam, 2023)

Mary Ngugi-Cooper      KEN 2:20:22 (London, 2022)

Sara Hall    USA 2:20:32 (Chandler, 2020)

Emma Bates USA 2:22:10 (Boston, 2022)

Buze Diriba ETH 2:23:11 (Toronto, 2023)

Sara Vaughn        USA 2:23:24 (Chicago, 2023)

Susanna Sullivan USA 2:24:27 (London, 2023)

Gabi Rooker USA 2:24:35 (Chicago, 2023)

Lindsay Flanagan USA 2:24:43 (Gold Coast, 2022)

Nell Rojas  USA 2:24:51 (Boston, 2023)

Stacey Ndiwa      KEN 2:25:29 (Los Angeles, 2024)

Laura Thweatt     USA 2:25:38 (London, 2017)

Lauren Hagans     USA 2:25:56 (Duluth, 2023)

Annie Frisbie       USA 2:26:18 (New York, 2021)

Jackie Gaughan   USA 2:27:08 (Berlin, 2023)

Dominique Scott  RSA 2:27:31 (Chicago, 2023)

Diane Nukuri       USA 2:27:50 (London, 2015)

Makena Morley   USA 2:30:25 (Los Angeles, 2024)

Anne Marie Blaney        USA 2:30:43 (Orlando, 2024)

Andrea Pomaranski       USA 2:31:06 (Houston, 2023)

Amy Davis-Green USA 2:33:09 (Orlando, 2024)

Aubrey Frentheway       USA Debut