Former world and Olympic distance champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia won the Chicago Marathon women’s title on Sunday, pulling away to win her first major crown at the distance.
Dibaba won in 2hrs 18mins 31secs to defeat Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei by 1:51 with American Jordan Hasay third in 2:20:57.
Dibaba vowed to challenge the women’s course record of 2:17:18 set by British world record holder Paula Radcliffe in 2002 and was on that pace in the early going.
Dibaba led after 5km in 16:08, 19 seconds under Radcliffe’s course record pace, and had trimmed the field in the lead pack to only five.
Florence Kiplagat’s 10km time of 32:28 was also 19 seconds faster than Radcliffe’s record split but by 15km it was Hasay, third this year in Boston, leading in 49:02, three seconds under record pace.
Dibaba led at the halfway mark at 1:08:48, well off Radcliffe’s record pace, but made another charge that left only Kosgei on her heels. The Kenyan fell back with 10km remaining, leaving Dibaba alone to the end.
Dibaba, 32, is a two-time 5,000m world champion and three-time 10,000m world champion who settled for second at this year’s worlds in London, trailing only compatriot Almaz Ayana.
Dibaba won 5,000 and 10,000 gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and defended the longer crown four years later in London. Last year in Rio, Dibaba was third in the 10,000 with the fourth-fastest time in history.
And Dibaba was second at London in April in 2:17:56, becoming the third-fastest woman at the distance on a similar flat course in only her second effort at the distance.
AFP
