Chepngetich and Legese lead Chicago Marathon fields

Ruth Chepngetich heads to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on the hunt for a hattrick, while Birhanu Legese is the fastest in the men’s field for the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on Sunday.

The women’s race features a clash between Chepngetich, her Kenyan compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei and Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede – three sub-2:17 runners who form part of a field that includes another six women to have dipped under 2:20.

Chepngetich, the 2019 world marathon champion, won in Chicago in 2021 and 2022, and followed that with a runner-up finish to Sifan Hassan last year. She clocked 2:14:18 on that occasion, while her PB of 2:14:18 set in Chicago in 2022 makes her the fourth fastest women’s marathon runner in history.

She ran 2:24:36 for her most recent marathon, in London in April, and placed ninth, but then clocked 1:05:58 to win the 21k Buenos Aires half marathon in August.

Jepkosgei, who won the London Marathon in 2021 and New York City Marathon in 2019, finished fourth in Chicago last year in 2:17:23.

She improved by one place when returning to marathon action in London in April, setting a PB of 2:16:24.

It’s Kebede who leads this season’s top list, thanks to the PB of 2:15:55 she set to win the Tokyo Marathon in March. That puts her at No.8 all time and she will be hoping to make the most of the fast course in Chicago.

“After seeing what my teammate Kelvin Kiptum did last year, I want to come to Chicago to do something great,” said Kebede, who finished 15th in last year’s race.

Kiptum, who was part of Kebede’s training group, died in a road traffic accident in February, just four months after he set his world marathon record of 2:00:35 in Chicago. This year, the event will honour Kiptum’s legacy with a moment of silence at the start line.

Joining Chepngetich, Jepkosgei and Kebede on that start line will be three more women with PBs under 2:18 – Ethiopia’s Degitu Azimeraw, Ashete Bekere and Hiwot Gebrekidan – plus Kenya’s Irine Cheptai, who ran 2:18:22 in Hamburg in April.

The field also features the second and third fastest ever US women’s marathon runners, Keira D’Amato and Betsy Saina, who have also dipped under 2:20. They are joined in this competitive field by their compatriots Sara Hall and Emma Bates.

Ethiopia’s Legese leads the men’s field with the PB of 2:02:48 he ran in Berlin in 2019.

That performance puts him sixth on the men’s world marathon all-time list but since then his highest marathon finish has been a third place, achieved in Rotterdam with a 2:05:16 run in April.

The two-time Tokyo Marathon champion will want to return to winning ways when he heads back to Chicago, where he placed 10th when making his World Marathon Majors debut in 2018, but he faces tough opposition.

Six other men in the field have PBs faster than 2:06, including Kenya’s Amos Kipruto, Vincent Ngetich and John Korir, and Ethiopia’s Dawit Wolde, Amedework Walelegn and Mohamed Esa.

Kipruto, the 2019 world bronze medallist, and Ngetich have matching PBs of 2:03:13. Kipruto won the London Marathon in 2022 and trains with Benson Kipruto, who won that year’s Chicago Marathon, while Ngetich was second in the Berlin Marathon last year, five places ahead of Kipruto. He was also third at this year’s Tokyo Marathon.

Korir ran his PB of 2:05:01 when finishing third in Chicago in 2022, while Wolde ran 2:03:48 in Valencia last year, Esa has a best of 2:05:05 from Amsterdam in 2022 and Walelegn clocked 2:04:50 in Rotterdam in April, finishing runner-up – one place ahead of Legese.

Looking to join them at the front of the field will be Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo, the world 10,000m and half marathon silver medallist who makes his marathon debut. The 29-year-old ran a 59:30 half marathon in Berlin in April, 26 seconds off his PB set in Manama in 2022.

Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer Mekonnen, who finished fourth in the half marathon at last year’s World Road Running Championships behind runner-up Ebenyo, is back in marathon action after his win in Seoul in March.

Among the athletes racing on home soil are USA’s Zach Panning, CJ Albertson and Brian Shrader.

Elite fields

Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:14:18

Sutume Kebede (ETH) 2:15:55

Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:16:24

Degitu Azimeraw (ETH) 2:17:58

Ashete Bekere (ETH) 2:17:58

Hiwot Gebrekidan (ETH) 2:17:59

Irine Cheptai (KEN) 2:18:22

Betsy Saina (USA) 2:19:17

Sara Hall (USA) 2:20:32

Emma Bates (USA) 2:22:10

Buze Diriba (ETH) 2:23:11

Sara Vaughn (USA) 2:23:24

Susanna Sullivan (USA) 2:24:27

Gabi Rooker (USA) 2:24:35

Lindsay Flanagan (USA) 2:24:43

Stacey Ndiwa (KEN) 2:25:29 

Annie Frisbie (USA) 2:26:18

Jackie Gaughan (USA) 2:27:08

Dominique Scott (RSA) 2:27:31

Makena Morley (USA) 2:30:25

Anne Marie Blaney (USA) 2:30:43

Amy Davis-Green (USA) 2:33:09

Aubrey Frentheway (USA) debut 

Birhanu Legese (ETH) 2:02:48

Amos Kipruto (KEN) 2:03:13

Vincent Ngetich (KEN) 2:03:13

Dawit Wolde (ETH) 2:03:48

Amedework Walelegn (ETH) 2:04:50

John Korir (KEN) 2:05:01

Mohamed Esa (ETH) 2:05:05

Jemal Yimer (ETH) 2:06:08

Kyohei Hosoya (JPN) 2:06:35

Toshiki Sadakata (JPN) 2:07:05

Tatsuya Maruyama (JPN) 2:07:50

Jorge Castelblanco (PAN) 2:09:24

Zach Panning (USA) 2:09:28

Brian Shrader (USA) 2:09:46

CJ Albertson (USA) 2:09:53

Tomoki Yoshioka (JPN) 2:10:03

Reed Fischer (USA) 2:10:34

Colin Mickow (USA) 2:11:22

Kevin Salvano (USA) 2:11:26

Jacob Thomson (USA) 2:11:40

Turner Wiley (USA) 2:11:59