Dickson Chumba leads a 1-2-3 Kenyan sweep. Florence Kiplagat captures her 3rd World Marathon Majors title.
CHICAGO — In today’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon, more than 37,000 runners crossed the finish line in Grant Park on a sun kissed day with strong winds out of the southwest. For the first time in more than two decades, pacesetters were not at the helm of the race, and in a strategic competition up front, the men’s race saw a Kenyan sweep with Dickson Chumba running away from the field in 2:09:25, Sammy Kitwara finishing as the runner-up for the second time in 2:09:50, and newcomer to the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM), Sammy Ndungu, sprinting down the homestretch for third in 2:10:06.
Florence Kiplagat (KEN), the reigning half marathon world record holder, captured her third Abbott World Marathon Majors win after picking up a pair of wins at the 2011 and 2013 BMW BERLIN Marathon, breaking the tape first in 2:23:33. Yebrgual Melese (ETH) held on for second in 2:23:43, and Birhane Dibaba (ETH), secured a podium finish in 2:24:24, moving her into second place on the AWMM leader board.
The Men’s Race
Without the use of pacesetters (“rabbits”), the men’s race moved out at a pedestrian pace with 11 men bunched into a tight pack through the first five kilometers. American Elkanah Kibet bravely surged ahead and opened a 15 second gap on the chase pack, but the eight men behind him reeled him in before 15K. All nine contenders hit the half in 1:05:13, and the group remained huddled together through 30K.
As the group neared the 20-mile mark, the field seemed content to wait for someone to make the first move. Dickson Chumba, Sammy Kitwara and Abera Kuma (ETH) answered the call, hitting the gas pedal at mile 20, and breaking the pack with a 4:35 mile.
With Kuma fading to seventh place, Chumba, the third place finisher in 2014, continued to push ahead, and by mile 24, he had opened a 20 second gap on Kitwara. Chumba hit the tape first, earning his second AWMM career victory with a 2:09:25 finish. Kitwara finished as the runner-up for the second time in 2:09:50, and Sammy Ndungu edged Girmay Birhanu Gebru at the line to claim third in 2:10:06.
In an exclusive interview with Chicago based Afrodisiac TV, Chumba indicated that the lack of pacesetters and the stiff breeze played a significant role in the relatively slow times that were posted in this years race. Having trained well he felt that he would have posted a faster time but was nonetheless very pleased to come out with the win after placing 3rd last year.
The Women’s Race
Unlike the men’s race, the women’s race started aggressively. Kayoko Fukushi (JPN), the 2011 Chicago Marathon runner-up, led a pack of six through the 5K on sub 2:20 pace. The women accelerated through seven miles, but slowed before the 15K as they turned into a strong headwind.
The same group of six hit the half way mark in 1:10:28 and remained together until two-time Berlin Marathon winner, Florence Kiplagat, and Yebrgual Melese, put some strides on the field at mile 22. Kiplagat finally pulled away from Melese around 40K. Kiplagat held on strong to finish first in 2:23:33, moving her to fourth place on the AWMM leaderboard with 26 points. Melese finished ten seconds back in 2:23:43, and Dibaba held off Fukushi by one second to claim third place in 2:24:24.
In an interview with Afrodisiac TV, Kiplagat gave an inspiring account of how an early morning conversation with her children motivated her to capture the crown. She communicated with them an hour before the race and they assured that she would take the crown. After she crossed the finish she was overwhelmed with joy both for herself and for her children who were watching back home in Eldoret, Kenya.
