Amos Kipruto finally broke through for his first win at the Chicago Marathon and Hawi Feysa’s decisive move at mile 25 locked in her second straight win on Sunday.
Both races came down to pure tactics and not allowing their respective battles to be settled with a final sprint, as Kipruto separated from Jacob Kiplimo at mile 21 at 1:36:34 and opened up a lead he would not surrender.
But after finishing third in 2024 and second last year, Kipruto knew leveling up was the next step and in the opening round, he was part of a tight lead pack with Kiplimo, Tadese Bikila, Milkesa Mengesha, Boki Diriba and Daniel Mateiko that crossed the 5km mark at 14:18.
The group would hold steady through the halfway point at 1:00:21, with Kiplimo looking strong and poised to defend his title as the pack would begin to fade one competitor at a time. By mile 20 at 1:31:51, Kiplimo and Kipruto had shed their pacers and the rest of the men’s field, setting up what looked to be a final showdown late in the race.
But Kipruto had other plans and would not be relegated to a second or third podium position again and shifted away from Kiplimo at mile 21 and expanded his lead the rest of the way that would be tough for anyone behind him to regain ground.
On his final approach with the finish line in sight, Kipruto was locked in, forgoing the fist pumps and celebrating in the last few meters until he broke the tape.
Bikila made up ground and took second in 2:02:56 while Mengesha was third in 2:03:46 as Kiplimo finished a distant fourth in 2:04:18.
Kipruto moves up to fifth on the all-time list of fastest marathoners in a tie with distance legend Eliud Kipchoge, who also won in Melbourne on Sunday.
“I’ve been here for three years now,” Kipruto said after the race during the broadcast. “I came here in 2024, I became position three. 2025, I became position two and now in 2026 it was either win or it lies on me.”
“Everything is all about a mindset,” he added. “I know it was a tough field, but I set my mind on it and said ‘let’s go.'”
Meanwhile, Feysa repeated as champion on Sunday, as she dropped Sharon Lokedi late in the race to take the win in 2:13:33.
Feysa and Brigid Kosgei struck out on their own early in the competition, moving past the 10km point at 31:04 and holding a nine-second lead over a chase pack that included Lokedi, Joan Jepkosgei, Brillian Kipkoech and Loice Chemnung.
But by the halfway mark at 1:06:06, the field evened things out and caught up as Lokedi, Chemnung and Jepkosgei arrived to not only announce their presence, but ensure that they would be a factor in the next port of the race. That would prove to be short-lived as Feysa and Lokedi took off on their own, put the race out of reach and fought for position for most of the remainder of the competition.
At the 40km mark at 2:06:43, Lokedi appeared to have the edge but was caught by surprise as Feysa surged at mile 25 and was clear that she would retrace her own footsteps from last year and win again, convincingly. She rounded the final turn and threw her hands up as she crossed the finish line, improving her personal by 84 seconds as she moved to fourth all-time in the distance.
Lokedi took second in 2:14:07, and is not eighth all-time, while Kosgei finished third in 2:14:55.
“It certainly became quite a battle, especially after the pacemaker dropped out around 33k, but around 35k that’s when I became pretty sure I had this in the bag,” Feysa said through her translator after her win during the broadcast.
Catherine Debrunner stormed to a 1:33:16 world record in the women’s wheelchair, breaking her own previous mark from 2023 by a minute for her third win in Chicago.
“I really gave all I could and when I saw the time at the finish, it felt great,” Debrunner said on the broadcast. “It’s unbelievable,” Debrunner said after her victory.”
Meanwhile, Marcel Hug soared to a 1:02:00 course record win in the men’s wheelchair race, dominating by nearly five minutes for his seventh win on the course.
“I would say that today was maybe one of the best performances of my career,” Hug said after the race. “It resulted in a course record, so I’m really, really happy. Also, the crowd out there. Without them, I could not make it.
2026 Chicago Marathon Results
Men’s Elite Finishers
1. Amos Kipruto (Kenya) – 2:01:09
2. Tadese Bikila (Ethiopia) – 2:02:56
3. Milkesa Mengesha (Ethiopia) – 2:03:46
4. Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) – 2:04:18
5. Boki Diriba (Ethiopia) – 2:05:01
6. Daniel Mateiko (Kenya) – 2:05:01
7. Clayton Young (USA) – 2:05:23
8. Charles Hicks (USA) – 2:05:35
9. Akira Akasaki (Japan) – 2:05:47
10. Vincent Mauri (USA) – 2:06:45
Women’s Elite Finishers
1. Hawi Feysa (Ethiopia) – 2:13:33
2. Sharon Lokedi (Kenya) – 2:14:07
3. Brigid Kosgei (Kenya) – 2:14:55
4. Mary Ngugi-Cooper (Kenya) – 2:17:23
5. Joan Jepkosgei (Kenya) – 2:18:39
6. Isobel Batt-Doyle (Australia) – 2:20:38
7. Emma Grace Hurley (USA) – 2:20:47
8. Degitu Azimeraw (Ethiopia) – 2:20:59
9. Magdalyne Masai (Kenya) – 2:21:11
10. Loice Chemnung (Kenya) – 2:21:18
Men’s Wheelchair
1. Marcel Hug (Switzerland) – 1:02:00
2. Aaron Pike (USA) – 1:07:12
3. Lito Anker (Netherlands) – 1:07:13
4. David Weir (Great Britain) – 1:07:13
5. Tomoki Suzuki (Japan) – 1:07:14
6. Jetze Plat (Netherlands) – 1:08:28
7. Sho Watanabe (Japan) – 1:09:41
8. JohnBoy Smith (Great Britain) – 1:09:41
9. Miguel Jimenez Vergara (USA) – 1:10:00
10. Joshua Cassidy (Canada) – 1:10:57
Women’s Wheelchair
1. Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) – 1:33:16 WR
2. Tatyana McFadden (USA) – 1:42:01
3. Manuela Schär (Switzerland) – 1:42:01
4. Hannah Dederick (USA) – 1:47:12
5. Vanessa Cristina De Souza (Brazil) – 1:47:14
6. Patricia Eachus (Switzerland) – 1:47:15
7. Hoda Elshorbagy (Egypt) – 1:47:59
8. Jenna Ayers (USA) – 1:54:02
9. Rachel Cleaver (USA) – 2:15:10
10. Eva Houston (USA) – 2:20:54
