In 2019, when the whole world of runners cheered for King Eliud Kipchoge to break the 2-hour mark for the marathon at the INEOS 159 Challenge, on the other side of the Atlantic, in Chicago, another Kenya made a feat.
Brigid Kosgei broke the Women’s world record at the Marathon, which lasted for 16 years. Kosgei completed the 42km ride in 2:14:04, breaking the old record of 2:15:25 set by Paula Radcliffe at the 2003 London Marathon.
Outstanding performance at the Chicago Marathon
For runners, the name Brigid Kosgei is not too strange. Kosgei is one of the most prominent semi-marathon and marathon runners in the world. Her recent record of 64 minutes and 28 seconds at the Great North Run surpasses the World semi-marathon track record, but this achievement is not considered a new world record because the track is not officially recognized.
Brigid Kosgei at Chicago Marathon 2019
Anyway, the female runner was the winner at the 2019 London Marathon with a 2:18:20 record, surpassing last year’s former champion Vivian Cheruiyot, and with 66 minutes 42 seconds for the second half of the range. She is the one who runs the second half of the fastest marathon in history ever.
A month before the London Marathon she won a decent semi-marathon in Bahrein. New world champion Ruth Chepngetich finished runner-up in this range. The last Brigid 5km run at Bahrein takes less than 15 minutes.
Therefore, Kosgei went to the Chicago Marathon with the goal of the championship. During Saturday’s technical meeting, Kosgei’s speed team (consisting of two very aggressive East Africans) was tasked with the pace at 2:16:00.
On the match day, that speed still seemed too slow for her. From the very first mile, Kosgei has shown her direction to the world record. She ran the first 5 km in 15 minutes and 28 seconds – equivalent to a 2:10:31 FM record.
After that, Kosgei finished the first half of the competition with a record of 66 minutes 59 seconds, 1 minute faster than the first half of Radcliffe’s record. At the end of the competition, Kosgei said he could run faster and that the 2-hour 10-minute goal for the female runner for the Marathon is not too far off.