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Brigid Kosgei wins the Chicago marathon in world record time

She goes under Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old mark.

Brigid Kosgei of Kenya made history today at the Chicago Marathon, setting a world record of 2:14:04.

She smashed Paula Radcliffe’s mark of 2:15:25 from the London Marathon in 2003.

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With two dedicated pacers ahead of her, Kosgei went out in a torrid first 5K of 15:28, which projects to a 2:10 marathon. Her pacers slowed the tempo slightly after that, but Kosgei was still well ahead of world record pace. By 10K, she had a 32-second gap on her nearest pursuer. She passed the halfway mark in 1:06:59.

The conditions were perfect for a record run, with temperatures around 40 degrees and light winds.

The 25-year-old earns $100,000 for the win and $75,000 for breaking the Chicago course record, which was 2:17:18, also held by Radcliffe.

Paula Radcliffe with new world record holder Brigid Kosgei.

Kosgei has not lost in 2019, including a victory at the London Marathon in 2:18:20, which was her previous personal best.

The world record comes a little more than a day after Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run under two hours in the marathon in Vienna (1:59:40), though that will not be recognized as an official world record.

Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia, who before today had a personal best of 2:24:02 from Tokyo in March, was second in 2:20:51, nearly 7 minutes behind Kosgei. Gelete Burka of Ethiopia was third in 2:20:55.

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