Chicago Marathon: Abel Kirui Wins Men's Division; Florence Kiplagat Repeats as Women's Champ

CHICAGO, IL — Kenyan runners Abel Kirui and Florence Kiplagat were the winners in the men's and women's divisons, respectively, for the Chicago Marathon on Sunday.

Kirui, 34, finished the race in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 23 seconds, beating defending champ Dickson Chumba by 3 seconds. His win comes after surging in the final miles to break away from a group of 13 runners, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Kiplagat, 29, won her second consecutive Chicago Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 21 minutes, 32 seconds. She outdistanced her closest competitor — Edna Kiplagat, no relation — by more than 2 minutes for the victory. At some points throughout the race, Kiplagat ran a faster split than the lead runners in the men's division, the Tribune reports.

University of Illinois grad Tatyana McFadden placed first in the wheelchair field's women's division (1:42:28), and Hug Marcel, of Switzerland, won the men's division (1:32:57). The victory for McFadden, who earned six gold medals at this year's Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, was her sixth consecutive Chicago Marathon win, the most by a competitor in the event.

In 2013, McFadden earned the wheelchair marathon "grand slam" by winning the Boston, Chicago, London and New York marathons in a single year.

More via the Chicago Tribune

photo via Patch archive

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