Women’s Marathon Record Falls Too!

Yesterday I posted a story about two big endurance achievements that took place over the weekend, noting the efforts of Eliud Kipchoge to break the two-hour barrier for running a marathon and Jan Frodeno setting a new record for the Ironman in Kona. But, another impressive record that was set over the weekend flew completely beneath my radar until after I written that story and it is important to highlight the talented Kenyan runner Brigid Kosgei, who smashed the women’s marathon mark as well.

Kosgei was taking part in the Chicago Marathon, where she finished with a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 4 seconds. That’s 1 minute, 21 seconds faster than the previous record of 2:15:25 set by Britain’s Paula Radcliffe at the London Marathon in 2003. It was also a fast enough time to give Brigid a more than six minute advantage over her next closest rival in Chicago, as Ethiopians Ababel Yeshaneh and Gelete Burka finished second and third with times of 2:20:51 and 2:20:55 respectively.

Kosgei says that she was inspired by her fellow countrymen Kipchoge’s success the day before. She told The New York Times “I kept saying, ‘Tomorrow is my day. I wanted to be the second Kipchoge — the Kipchoge for women. I focused on that.” Considering the fact that she is just 25 years old and only still coming into her own as a runner, there is a great chance she may become just that. In fact, she told The Guardian that she can go quicker and that “I think 2:10 is possible for a lady,” she said. “I am focused on reducing my time again.”

Congrats to Brigid on such an amazing accomplishment and apologies for not including it in yesterday’s rundown. It was an oversight I knew I had to rectify as soon as I could.

Kraig Becker