Evans Rutto of Kenya won his second straight Chicago Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 16 seconds, and claimed his third victory in as many tries at the 42.2km distance.
Daniel Njenga of Kenya was second in 2:07:44 and Toshinari Takaoka of Japan was third in 2:07:50. Former world-record holder Khalid Khannouchi, running his first marathon in two years, was fifth in 2:08:44.
PHOTO: AFP
Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania won the women's race despite spending the last few days in bed with the flu. She easily beat the rest of the field in 2:23:45, finishing almost a minute ahead of countrywoman Nuta Olaru. Olaru ran 2:24:33 while Svetlana Zakharova of Russia was third in 2:25:01.
Rutto set a world debut record last year in Chicago, winning in 2:05:50. He ran the London Marathon in April, finishing first in 2:06:18 despite crashing into a barrier on a cold, windy and rainy day.
As Rutto approached the finish, he raised his arms and pumped his fists, a broad smile crossing his face. His finish was the world's second-fastest in the marathon this year, two seconds behind Felix Limo at the Rotterdam Marathon.
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