Kelvin Kiptum on Sunday ran the Chicago Marathon in what once would have been an unthinkable time: barely over 2 hours. The Kenyan runner's 2:00:35 finish, which still must be ratified, beat the previous world record for a marathon, set by Eliud Kipchoge, by 34 seconds; it's the first time anyone has run a marathon in less than 2:01:00, CNN reports. The second-place finisher, Daniel Kibet Mateiko, was three minutes and 27 seconds behind him. Astonishingly, Kiptum, 23, ran his first marathon just last December (in fact, he ran the fastest-ever marathon debut in that race) and Chicago was just his third competitive marathon after he set a course record in London in April.
The Guardian reports "supershoe technology" has changed marathon running to such a degree that it's inevitable someone will eventually break the 2-hour barrier. Kiptum was wearing Nike Dev 163 prototype shoes in Chicago. Ethiopian runner Tigist Assefa broke the women's marathon world record in Berlin just two weeks ago while wearing nearly $500 Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes. In Chicago, the women's race was won by Sifan Hassan, who marked the second-best-ever women's time with her 2:13:44 finish. "I knew I was coming for a course record, but a world record—I am so happy," Kiptum said after the race. "A world record was not on my mind today, but I knew one day I would be a world record-holder." (More marathon stories.)
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