Kelvin Kiptum has officially had his world marathon record of 2:00:35 set in Chicago last year ratified. He became the first athlete to break 2:01 in a record-eligible marathon, taking 34 seconds off the world record at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on 8 October. He broke away from a seven-strong lead group and crossed the finish line in 2:00:35, almost three and a half minutes ahead of the competition. Kiptum expressed his happiness at achieving a world record, stating, “I knew I was coming for a course record, but a world record – I am so happy.”

During the race, Kiptum reached 5km in 14:26 and was joined by his compatriot Daniel Mateiko.

They were on world record pace at 10km, passed in 28:42, but the tempo dropped slightly, and they reached halfway in 1:00:48. Kiptum kicked after passing the 30km mark in 1:26:31, dropping Mateiko. A 5km split of 13:51 took him to the 35km checkpoint in 1:40:22, putting him on sub-2:01 pace, 49 seconds ahead of Mateiko. The previous world record was 2:01:09, set by Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin on 25 September 2022.

With his performance, Kiptum improved his personal best by 50 seconds to surpass the previous world record. His accomplishment was officially ratified, solidifying his place in marathon history.