As the Kenyan becomes the first woman to break 2:10, the running world is left wondering if the performance was down to her undoubted talent, hi-tech super shoes, modern energy drinks or something else
It is almost five years to the day since Ruth Chepngetich survived the carnage on the Corniche to become world marathon champion on a sweltering night in Doha.
In a desperate attempt to avoid the worst of the day’s heat, the race started at midnight on the Qatari capital city’s famous promenade. Despite the bizarre scheduling, the temperature was still 32.7C with 73.3% humidity as runners set off.
Reporting on the action with my colleague Euan Crumley, we were dripping in sweat as we merely stood roadside watching the action. Not surprisingly, the athletes struggled in the oppressive conditions with 28 of the 63 starters dropping out.
It was a gruelling spectacle and after 2hr 32min 42sec, though, Chepnegetich breezed through the finish line to take gold.
When asked about the conditions, she replied: “It was not bad for me!”
Ruth Chepngetich (Mark Shearman)
On Sunday (Oct 13) the diminutive Kenyan once again defied the laws of nature as she stormed to a world record of 2:09:56 in Chicago.
Tigist Assefa’s world record of 2:11:53 from just over a year earlier in Berlin was unfathomable enough. But Chepngetich sliced almost two minutes off the Ethiopian’s time.
In her wake, runner-up Sutume Asefa Kebede finished more than seven and a half minutes behind. Paula Radcliffe, who clocked a long-standing world record of 2:15:25 in 2003, would have finished five and a half minutes (or more than a mile) behind.
Not only did Chepngetich run faster than Eamonn Martin when he clocked 2:10:50 to win the London Marathon in 1993, but she is now quicker than Brits such as as Chris Thompson, Marc Scott and Ben Connor, among others. In fact, only 22 British men have beaten Chepngetich’s time.
Historically, she is more than three minutes quicker than double Olympic men’s marathon champion Abebe Bikila and more than 13 minutes faster than Emil Zatopek. The great women’s marathon pioneer Grete Waitz, meanwhile, had a best of 2:24:54.
When it comes to Olympic finals, Chepngetich’s time in Chicago is quicker than every men’s race from the advent of the modern Olympics right up to 2004 with just one exception. Waldemar Cierpinski won the 1976 Olympic title in a quicker time, but only by a solitary second with 2:09:55.
Ruth Chepng’etich (Getty)
As we reported on Sunday, Chepngetich went through 5km in a blistering 15:00 and 10km in 30:14 – times which are quicker than her PBs for those distances. She then hit halfway in 64:16 – only a few seconds outside her PB of 64:02 and the fifth quickest time in history for 13.1 miles.
Such early pace is not entirely unprecedented. In Chicago in 2022 she passed 5km in 15:11, 10km in 30:40 and halfway in 65:44 before fading to 2:14:18 as she missed the world record at the time by 14 seconds.
This time she maintained her pace much better, though, with halfway splits of 64:16 and 65:40 to run what athletics rankings systems have concluded is the equivalent of a four-minute mile.
Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 means the women’s world record is 9:21 slower than Kelvin Kiptum’s men’s world record of 2:00:35. In comparison, Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 was 9:47 slower than Khalid Khannouchi’s men’s record of 2:05:38 in 2003.
Paula Radcliffe (Mark Shearman)
Similarly, Radcliffe’s mark put her 304th on the world rankings in 2003 (and top of the UK men’s lists that year) whereas Chepngetich is now 284th on the 2024 rankings although certain to fall further by the end of this year given the number of top marathons remaining on the calendar.
Much has been made of the advances in shoe technology and Chepngetich was wearing the Nike AlphaFly 3 on Sunday. Nutrition has also improved a lot in the last 20 years with athletes far less likely to hit “the wall”.
These shoes, drinks and gels are widely available to everybody, though, which means plenty of people believe other factors are at play.
Letsrun.com asked Chepngetich about doping at the press conference. Given the alarming number of Kenyan drugs positives in recent years, it was a fair question and merely echoed what many were posting on social media.
“You know,” she replied, “people must talk but… people must talk so I don’t know.”
READ MORE: Chepngetich storms to world record
Chepngetich, who has never failed a drugs test, went on to explain that she is self-coached and the world record had been in her sights for some time.
“My plan was 2:09 or 2:10,” she said. “The world record is not easy. You need focus and determination.”
Evolution of the women’s marathon world record
2:25:28 Grete Waitz, London 1983
2:21:06 Ingrid Kristiansen, London 1985
2:20:47 Tegla Loroupe, Rotterdam 1998
2:20:43 Loroupe, Berlin 1999
2:19:46 Naoko Takahashi, Berlin 2001
2:18:47 Catherine Ndereba, Chicago 2001
2:17:18 Paula Radcliffe, Chicago 2002
2:15:25 Radcliffe, London 2003
2:14:04 Brigid Kosgei, Chicago 2019
2:11:53 Tigist Assefa, Berlin 2023
2:09:56 Ruth Chepngetich, Chicago 2024
READ MORE: Paula Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 world record
Chepngetich’s marathon progression
2017 – 2:22:36 Istanbul
2018 – 2:18:35 Istanbul
2019 – 2:17:08 Dubai
2020 – 2:22:05 London
2021 – 2:22:31 Chicago
2022 – 2:14:18 Chicago
2023 – 2:15:37 Chicago
2024 – 2:09:56 Chicago
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