Kimetto, Jeptoo win Chicago Marathon

Dennis Kimetto during past marathon in Tokyo

CHICAGO

Dennis Kimetto set a course record as he won the Chicago Marathon, his second marathon win of the year.

The women marathon was won by Rita Jeptoo in 2:19.57, the first sub 2:20 finish in 2013.

 Kimetto, who won Tokyo marathon in january, beat the previous record of 2:03:23 with 2:03:45, according to unofficial times.

Kimetto and compatriot Emmanuel Mutai were neck-and-neck until the last half-mile when Kimetto broke out front.

“I am happy because I broke the course record,” Kimetto said. “The [race] conditions were very good.”

Kimetto came to Chicago with a 2013 marathon win already under his belt. He took first in this year’s Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:06:50, which set a course record for the race, just his second marathon to date.

During his first marathon, in Berlin last September, he crossed the finish just one second behind the winner, Geoffrey Mutai.

Kimetto is known for long-distance road racing. The World Marathon Majors points out Kimetto would hold the world record for fastest marathon debut if the IAAF recognized that stat.

He set his personal best in Berlin with a finish time of 2:04:16.

In Netherlands, Kenya’s Ruth Wanjiru was a convincing winner of the women’s race Sunday’s De Lage Landen Marathon Eindhoven.

Wanjiru clocked 2:34:48, winning by 51 seconds from local runner Andrea Deelstra while Stefanie Bouma (Dutch) was third in 2:38.18.

In the men’s race, Ethiopian Yemane Tsegay Adhane won a thrilling battle crossing the line in 2:09:11 and ending a 14-year Kenyan winning streak in the Dutch city.

Heavy rain meant that the course record of 2:05:46 was unlikely to be challenged this year but there were still three men were in contention for the honours with barely a kilometre to go.

Tsegay Adhane, who can boast of a personal best of 2:04:48 when winning the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon, then surged as the trio entered the old market area in the centre of Eindhoven and shook off his younger compatriots Bazu Worku and Belay Assefa, who finished second and third in 2:09:19 and 2:09:31 respectively.

— Agencies