Paula Radcliffe winning the Chicago Marathon (© Getty Images)
Capping one of the finest distance running seasons ever witnessed, Britain's Paula Radcliffe shattered the World best in the Marathon with a 2:17:18 run at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.
"I'm really pleased," said the 28-year-old, after knocking one minute and 29 seconds from the record set here last year by Kenya's Catherine Ndereba. It was largest record-breaking margin since Ingrid Kristiansen (2:21:06) lowered Joan Benoit's standard in 1985 by one minute 37 seconds. "This is, since London, what I knew I was capable of doing."
Ndereba was a distant second in 2:19:26, the first time a woman running a marathon in under 2:20 did not emerge victorious.
So dominant was Radcliffe's stunning performance that the run of Khalid Khannouchi, a sterling 2:05:56 and the fourth fastest performance ever, seemed an after thought.
The forecasts of cold weather and rain showers never materialized, producing the perfect conditions for which the organisers had hoped. In spite of some particularly strong headwinds in the latter half of the race, both all-time performance lists were drastically altered, placing the Silver Anniversary edition of the Chicago race among the finest marathons ever.
Khannouchi, who has now run three of the four fastest marathons ever, was in awe of Radcliffe.
"She didn't complain about the winds, but she could have broken 2:17. It was a brilliant race."
“I went through the first half feeling good, and everyone said the second half of the course was faster and so I kicked on again and felt good," said Radcliffe. "But then at about 22 to 23 miles, I really needed the toilet and thought I would have to stop. Then the feeling just went off.”
"I was trying to hold the pace a bit at the beginning and then push on…. I was really surprised how much support there was out there for me, there were so many British people and flags….”
"I was nervous warming up," continued Radcliffe, who now leads the world this year in every distance from 5000m to the marathon. "I'm still new to it, and I knew it was going to be a tough race with Catherine and Yoko(Shibui)."
And it was, at least for the first half. After reaching the 13.1 mile point in 1:09:01, Radcliffe began to slowly pull away, building a 15 second lead by the 25km mark when Shibui was dropped. 10km later she extended her lead to 45 seconds, then sealed the world best with a pair of quick miles: 5:09 for the 21st mile, and 5:11 for the 22nd. She closed with a slowish 5:24 mile into the headwind of Grant Park, but by then the record was hers.
Behind the Briton, Chicago produced the deepest en-masse finish ever, with the top four runners under 2:22 for the first time. Yoko Shibui improved her best to 2:21:22 to finish third, nine seconds in front of Svetlana Zakharova, who lowered her own Russian national record to 2:21:31. Both are now among the ten fastest women ever over the distance.
In the men's race, Khalid Khannouchi's bid to win an unprecedented fourth "Windy City" title was challenged by a surge after 30km by Japan's Takaoka Toshinari. The Japanese record holder for 3000, 5000 and 10,000, the 32 year-old from Kyoto built a 17 second lead five kilometers later. But just minutes before reaching the two hour point, Khannouchi moved ahead and finished unchallenged, just 18 seconds shy of his world best set in London in April.
"I wasn't worried about Takaoka," Khannouchi said. "I knew tht I could make up a 30 second deficit in the last three miles if I ran hard."
It was a sprint finish for second, with the Japanese holding off Kenyan Daniel Njenga by the slightest of margins, with both timed in 2:06:16. For Takaoka, it was a personal best by more than 3 minutes and a new Asian record. For Njenga, who was breifly hospitalized after the race, it was a personal best by nearly five minutes. In his fourth marathon, Paul Tergat finished fourth in 2:06:18.
Khannouchi said he was most motivated by the support of the crowd and the competitiveness of the race.
"You come here and you know you're going to compete against the best. But you can't imagine how many times I heard my name out there. The support was astounding."
In spite of the lowest place ever in his marathon career, Tergat was pleased. "To run 2:06 again, that is terrific." Speaking of the brilliant finish displayed by Khannouchi, Tergat, considered by many as still one of the finest distance runners ever, shared nothing but praise.
"He's the greatest marathoner now," he said without hesitation. "He's exceptional. It's very difficult mentally to run two great races in one year. And he's done it."
Radcliffe's victory netted her $250,000 --$100,000 for the win and a $150,000 record bonus. Sponsor Volkswagon of America also awarded the Briton with a new car for her record run. Khannouchi earned $175,000 --$100,000 for the win, and a $75,000 bonus for a sub 2:06 performance.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
Men
1. Khalid Khannouchi (U.S.) 2:05:56
2. Daniel Njenga (Kenya) 2:06:16
3. Toshinari Takaoka (Japan) 2:06:16
4. Paul Tergat (Kenya) 2:06:18
5. Abdelkhader El Mouaziz (Morocco) 2:06:46
6. Alan Culpepper (U.S.) 2:09:41
7. John Kagwe (Kenya) 2:10:02
8. Driss El Himer (France) 2:11:51
9. Peter Githuka (Kenya) 2:12:43
10. Tobias Hiskia (South Africa) 2:13:16
Women
1. Paula Radcliffe (Britain) 2:17:18 WB
2. Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) 2:19:26
3. Yoko Shibui (Japan) 2:21:22
4. Svetlana Zakharova (Russia) 2:21:31
5. Madina Biktagirova (Russia) 2:25:20
6. Deena Drossin (U.S.) 2:26:53
7. Kayoko Obata (Japan) 2:28:15
8. Nuta Olaru (Romania) 2:31:37
9. Masako Chiba (Japan) 2:34:36
10. Jeanne Hennessy (U.S.) 2:35:53
