It’s Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and meaning one factor to marathon followers: it’s time for the 2023 Financial institution of America Chicago Marathon. This 12 months’s elite discipline shall be one to recollect, with the good Sifan Hassan competing in her second profession marathon towards the 2019 world champion and the third-fastest marathoner in historical past, Ruth Chepngetich. The boys’s aspect is simply as thrilling, with the comparatively unknown Kelvin Kiptum on the verge of greatness, focusing on Eliud Kipchoge’s world document of two:01:09 on Sunday.
The younger star
At 23 and with solely two profession marathons to his identify, Kiptum has rapidly established himself as the most effective distance runners on the planet, despite the fact that, regardless of his achievements in London, he stays comparatively unknown on the most important marathon scene. Kiptum is self-coached and didn’t enter marathoning from a prolific observe profession like Kipchoge, Mo Farah, or Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele.
Kiptum made his marathon debut final December on the 2022 Valencia Marathon, taking a commanding victory in 2:01:53, the quickest debut in historical past. He continued his dominance on the 2023 London Marathon, the place he shattered Kipchoge’s course document and got here inside 16 seconds of the world document, with a 2:01:25 end.
In June, Kiptum was chosen for Workforce Kenya within the 2023 World Athletics Championships marathon. Nonetheless, he declined the invitation, to concentrate on a fall marathon as a substitute. He settled on Chicago, which is broadly considered the quickest marathon main in North America.
In a pre-race interview with Olympics.com, Kiptum mentioned he’s well-trained for the Chicago course and believes he can develop into the primary man in historical past to run a 2:00 flat. Kiptum’s alternative of Chicago over the opposite fall majors, Berlin and NYC, signifies his eagerness to chase the world document. Chicago’s primarily flat course, with solely 70 metres of elevation achieve, makes it a great setting.
Kiptum’s competitors
If Kiptum intends to hit the midway mark round 60 minutes, there will not be many within the discipline who can sustain with him. The 2020 Olympic marathon bronze medallist, Bashir Abdi, is the second quickest athlete in Chicago, with a private greatest of two:03:36. Abdi completed fifth right here in 2019 and shall be seeking to enhance on his time of two:06:14.
Kiptum can even face off towards the most effective tactical marathoners on the planet and the reigning champion, Benson Kipruto. Kipruto comes off a second-place end on the 2023 Boston Marathon, the place he was runner-up to his coaching accomplice, Evans Chebet. Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura is aware of the Chicago course properly, having gained the race in 2021 and completed as runner-up to Kipruto final fall. If the race turns into a tactical affair, it’s exhausting to look previous these two because the favourites, however they don’t fairly have the sub-2:02 velocity to hold with Kiptum early.
American males chase Olympic normal
One other entertaining race-within-the-race to observe would be the battle between prime People Galen Rupp, Conner Mantz and Leonard Korir as they purpose to attain the 2024 Olympic marathon normal of two:08:10. The one American to interrupt that mark since 2020 is Rupp, who did so on the 2021 Chicago Marathon, the place he completed second. Presently, no American males have met the Olympic qualifying mark for Paris, and the U.S. Marathon Trials are simply 4 months away (in February 2024).
There are not any Canadian males within the elite discipline this 12 months, though Canada’s Rory Linkletter shall be serving to to tempo the ladies’s elite discipline.
For our ladies’s elite preview, click on right here.
The best way to watch
The 2023 Chicago Marathon shall be streamed on FloTrack, starting at 8:30 a.m. ET Sunday; you’ll be able to join a FloTrack account right here.
The dwell outcomes of the Chicago Marathon shall be out there on the Chicago Marathon app. For outcomes post-race, head right here.
