Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura and Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich won the men’s and women’s race respectively at the 2021 Chicago Marathon, held on October 10.

Chepngetich, the former half marathon world record holder and first runner-up at the 2020 London Marathon, took an early lead in the women’s race and stayed ahead until the end, to finish in two hours, 22 minutes and 31 seconds.

Emma Bates of the U.S finished in second position with a personal best timing of 2:24:20. In third position was Sara Hall, also of the U.S., finishing in 2:27:19.

In the men’s race, Tura won after breaking away from Galen Rupp of the U.S. and Kenya’s Eric Kiptanui. Tura’s winning time of 2:06:12 came amidst warm, humid conditions. Rupp crossed the finish line in second position in 2:06:35 and Kiptanui in 2:06:51 to place third.

American runner, Shalane Flanagan, finished in 2:46:39, securing 34th place among women runners. Flanagan had announced plans to run six World Marathon Majors in 42 days. The 2021 Chicago Marathon was her third since she started with the year’s Berlin Marathon held on September 26.

(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai.)