Kenya’s Ruth Chepng’etich breaks the world record at the Chicago Marathon and dedicates the victory to Kelvin Kiptum

Ruth Chepng’etich absolutely dominated the streets of Chicago on Sunday morning.

Chepng’etich broke the world record by almost two minutes at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. The 30-year-old Kenyan won the women’s marathon in a record time of 2:09:56. It was her third Chicago Marathon win in the last four years.

Chepng’etich broke the world record set by Ethiopian Tigist Assefa, who ran the Berlin Marathon last year in 2:11:53. Chepng’etich is now the first woman in history to run a marathon under 2:10.

In comparison, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won gold in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics earlier this summer. She finished the Olympics with a record time of 2:22:55.

In the men’s race, John Korir won by almost two full minutes. The Kenyan finished with a time of 2:02:44, beating Ethiopia’s Huseydin Mohamed Esa’s time of 2:04:39. Both times were significantly faster than the Olympic record pace set by Tamirat Tola when he won the men’s marathon in Paris.

Both Korir and Chepng’etich honored former men’s world record holder Kelvin Kiptum on Sunday. Kiptum won the Chicago Marathon last year, setting the world record by 34 seconds. He and his coach died in a car accident in February when they hit a tree near a training ground in Kenya. He was 24.

Kiptum was also expected to be a major contender at the Olympics earlier this year. He is the only man to break the 2:02 barrier three times in a marathon. He was also reportedly trying to become the first man to break the two-hour barrier at the Rotterdam Marathon in April.

CJ Albertson was the top American in the men’s race and Susanna Sullivan was the top American in the race. Both took seventh place.