Chicago Marathon: Jacob Kiplimo leads a field dominated by Africa on October 11
The 48th edition of the Chicago Marathon in the United States will set off from Grant Park on Sunday, October 11, 2026. And as is often the case in major global marathons, the list of favorites reads like a map of East Africa.
Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo is putting the title he won in 2025 in 2:02:23 back on the line, according to Marathon Handbook. Above all, he arrives with a personal best of 2:00:28 achieved at the 2026 London Marathon, one of the best performances in the history of the distance.
Six men under 2:05
Six registered runners have already run faster than 2:05, according to Marathon Handbook. Behind Kiplimo, we find Kenyan Amos Kipruto (2:01:39), Ethiopians Milkesa Mengesha (2:03:17), Tadese Takele (2:03:23), and Asrar Hiyrden (2:03:59), as well as Kenyans Daniel Mateiko (2:03:44) and Alex Masai (2:04:37).
In the women's race, Ethiopian Hawi Feysa defends her title, acquired in 2025 in 2:14:57. She will notably face Kenyan Brigid Kosgei, whose personal best of 2:14:04 was set precisely in Chicago in 2019, as well as Ethiopians Sutume Kebede (2:15:55) and Megertu Alemu (2:16:34) and Kenyans Brillian Kipkoech (2:17:05) and Sharon Lokedi (2:17:22).
Chicago, a record-breaking track
The flat course in the Illinois metropolis has a reputation to uphold: it is where Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum set the men's world record in 2023, and where his compatriot Ruth Chepngetich set the women's world record in 2024, notes Marathons.fr.
There is no guarantee of a historic time: October weather in the Midwest remains the least controllable factor of a marathon. But the density of the field suggests a high-level race rather than a solo exercise.
A domination built, not fallen from the sky
This African hegemony over the marathon is not a genetic accident, as is too often heard. It is the product of structured training pipelines on the high plateaus of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, fierce internal competition, and athletes for whom running has become a life project and an economic lever for their families and villages.
In Chicago, on October 11, 2026, the Ugandan, Kenyan, and Ethiopian colors will not be guests: they will be the center of the race.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.
