After two years of near-misses, Kenya’s John Korir triumphed at the 2024 Bank of America Chicago Marathon with a personal best time of 2:02:44, marking the second-fastest marathon time in history.
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon once again was filled with personal records, historic finishes and inspirational moments, including who won the iconic 2024 Chicago Marathon.
John Korir of Kenya secured his spot as the winner of the race with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 44 seconds, a likely personal best and the second-fastest men's marathon time in history, behind only the world record-finish set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.
Korir previously won both the 2021 and 2022 Los Angeles marathons, and while he ran both the 2022 and 2023 Chicago Marathons with two of the fastest times of his career, he finished those third and fourth, respectively.
The 2022 Chicago Marathon represented Korir's first appearance in this race. In the 2022 version, he ran his personal best marathon time of 2:05:01, finishing third in that race. He followed up that performance in 2023 with a fourth-place finish and 2:05:09 time.
Ruth Chepngetich won the Chicago Marathon women's race and, in doing so, accomplished something no other female marathoner has ever done by setting an unofficial world record.
Chepngetich's historic finish marks the first women's marathon time under 2 hours and 10 minutes. The previous world record was 2 hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds, set by Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. Chepngetich finished with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 56 seconds.
Chepngetich, the 2021 and 2022 Bank of American Chicago Marathon winner and runner-up in 2023, returned to the course in 2024 to try and reclaim her title. And she did more than that.
"This woman is on pace to do something that I never really thought I would see in a lifetime," fellow marathoner and NBC commentator Carrie Tollefson said during the live broadcast as Chepngetich raced closer to the finish line.
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Marcel Hug, also known as the "silver bullet" and widely considered the most dominant wheelchair marathoner of all time, once again claimed victory and won the 2024 Chicago Marathon men's wheelchair race.
Hug battled it out on the course against his biggest rival, Daniel Romanchuk, as well as surprise contender Tomoki Suzuki. Hug and Romanchuk have challenged each other in nearly every Chicago Marathon they have competed in and in several other global races.
Hug, the most decorated wheelchair marathoner in history, has won the Chicago Marathon four times and just added a fifth to his medal haul with his 2024 finish, continuing his dominance in the city after wins in both 2022 and 2023, where he set back-to-back course records.
In the last year, Hug has won the New York City Marathon and London Marathon, each for his sixth time. He also won the Boston Marathon for the seventh time. Romanchuk was the runner up for both London and Boston.
Catherine Debrunner won the women's wheelchair race, finishing the race with not a competitor in sight and likely setting a course record.
Debrunner maintained a steady lead for the entire 26.2 miles, securing her second straight victory in the race after a debut win in 2023. Debrunner finished with an unofficial time just over an hour and 36 minutes. The course record was one hour and 38 minutes. If her time is certified, that will mark a course record.
Her biggest competitor, Susannah Scaroni, got a flat tire early in the race.
DeBrunner's dominance has been evident ever since she debuted in the 2022 Berlin Marathon. She won that race in consecutive years, including a world-record-setting pace of 1:34:16 in the 2023 competition. She also has captured three consecutive titles in the London Marathon and is the reigning champion in Chicago, setting a course record in 2023.
