Esa banks second in Chicago on history-defining day
On an historic 2024 edition of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Mohamed Esa led the NN Running Team challenge placing second in a PB of 2:04:39 in the men’s elite race to extend his sequence of Abbott World Marathon Majors podium finishes.
In the women’s equivalent, Ruth Chepngetich produced a staggering performance to wipe almost two minutes from the world record – recording an eye-popping 2:09:56 – as Degitu Azimeraw of the NNRT placed sixth in 2:20:52.
Yet pride of place for the NN Running Team athletes went to Esa, who followed up second place finishes in the 2023 Tokyo Marathon and 2024 Boston Marathons with another Marathon Majors podium – trimming 26 seconds from his lifetime best.
In the Windy City, Kenyan John Korir grabbed victory – taking more than two minutes from his previous best – in 2:02:44 – to climb to sixth on the all-time lists.
On a sunny morning in Chicago a lead group of ten athletes - containing both Esa and his fellow Ethiopian and NN Running Team athlete Birhanu Legese - hit the 10km checkpoint in 29:37.
And by half distance the ten-strong lead pack remained, reaching the 21.1km mark in 1:02:19 – including Korir, who placed third in the 2022 Chicago Marathon and fourth in the 2023 edition.
By the 30km mark – reached in 1:28:18 - the lead group had whittled down to seven athletes and just after the 30km mark Korir started to take control of the race.
Putting in a fearsome surge which stretched out the field, Legese, the two-time former Tokyo Marathon, quickly faded out of the back. He was to pull out of the race before the 35km checkpoint.
By the 35km mark – timed at 1:42:19 – Korir held a near half-minute lead – with Esa one of four men – alongside Kenyan’s Amos Kipruto, Vincent Ngetich and Ethiopian Jemal Yimer – in a battle for the remaining podium places.
Yimer was the first to lose contact and by 40km, Esa was locked in a battle with Kipruto for second after Ngetich also dropped off the pace.
In the latter stages Esa proved the stronger as the 24-year-old kicked clear of Kipruto, the 2022 London Marathon winner, to take second by a margin of 11 seconds. Out front, Korir would not be denied his decisive victory.
A very special women’s race saw the remarkable Ruth Chepngetich add to her Chicago Marathon victories in 2021 and 2022 with an astounding display of distance running.
The 30-year-old Kenyan and 2019 world champion went through 10km in 30:14 – on track for a world record - two seconds clear of Sutume Asefa Kebede of Ethiopia.
By halfway Chepngetich had opened up a 14-second lead in a time of 1:04:16 comfortably on track to shatter the world record mark of 2:11:53 posted by Tigst Assefa at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.
From that point on the Kenyan put on a dazzling demonstration of distance running excellence to re-write the record books and become the first woman in history to record a sub-2:10 time for the marathon. Kebede grabbed second in 2:17:32 – 19 seconds clear of Kenyan Irine Cheptai in third.
Azimeraw, a winner of the Barcelona Marathon earlier this year 16 months after giving birth to her son, produced a solid outing. Hitting halfway seventh in a time of 1:09:17 by the 30km mark she had advanced to sixth. The 25-year-old Ethiopian finished strongly but could not quite overhaul Joyciline Jepkosgei - crossing the line sixth in 2:20:52.