The legendary two-hour mark has never been so close. On Sunday October 8, Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum broke the marathon world record in Chicago. His mark, 2h00m35s, beats by almost a minute the record held by his compatriot, the legend Eliud Kipchoge (2h01m09s, in Berlin in 2022). The latter was not present in the United States for this race.

“He is going to confront the record, he trained for the world record, but he prefers not to announce things,” Rwandan Gervais Hakizimana, Kiptum’s coach since 2016, warned on Saturday. The words of the coach, himself even a former good athlete, further increased the expectations arising from Kiptum’s performances.

The Kenyan had indeed made a sensational entry into the world of marathons in less than a year with two exceptional performances. First in Valencia in December 2022 (2:01:53) then in London in April (2:01:25), where he ran the second fastest marathon in history. Less than a year after his competitive debut over the distance, Kiptum has already ascended to the marathon throne.

“I wasn’t necessarily ready for that.”

“I wasn’t necessarily ready for it, but a world record, I’m so happy! I knew I would beat this record one day,” declared the day’s winner at the organizer’s microphone. Passed in 1 hour and 48 seconds at the halfway point, Kiptum added the way to his record. Because as usual, the Kenyan managed to accelerate further in the second half of the race. As a result, he let go of his compatriot Daniel Mateiko at the 33rd kilometer, then flew alone towards the finish line, helped by ideal weather conditions: a temperature between 7 and 10 degrees, overcast weather and almost no wind. -null.

After dispossessing Kipchoge of his record, Kiptum will probably want to beat him head-to-head. For the moment, he has never directly faced his illustrious 38-year-old elder, and this opposition could take place during the marathon of the Paris Olympic Games, in less than ten months. Even without his world record, Kipchoge will advance in a race in which he has won the last two editions.

A few minutes after Kiptum’s arrival, the fans gathered along the course almost witnessed a second record. The Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan won the women’s race in 2h 13m 44s, setting the second best time in history. A time still far from that set two weeks earlier by the Ethiopian Tigist Assefa in Berlin (2h 11m 53s).

” I am so happy ! the last five kilometers were terribly painful. But I love the marathon, rejoiced Hassan after his passage on the line. This is only my second marathon, it’s incredible. I am very happy with my training, I worked hard, but I did not think I would be capable of such a time. » The Dutchwoman’s performance is all the more remarkable as she competed in the world athletics championships in Budapest (Hungary) six weeks previously. She won two medals there: silver in the 5000m and bronze in the 1500m.