World Athletics has finally ratified the women-only world record set by Kenya’s Peris Jepchirchir at the London Marathon.
Peres Jepchirchir’s women-only world record set at the London Marathon in April has now been ratified by World Athletics.
Kenya’s Jepchirchir rewrote the record book as she ran 2:16:16 to improve the women-only world marathon record by 45 seconds in the English capital.
The field for the Londn Marathon on April 21 was widely regarded as one of the deepest and highest-quality women’s fields ever assembled and no secret had been made of the fact that breaking Mary Keitany’s seven-year-old women-only world record of 2:17:01 was the big target.
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Ultimately, Jepchirchir was the one to achieve it. Seven women had remained in the pack as they reached the half-way point in 1:07:04 – the second-fastest half-way split ever recorded in London and a mark that put them on schedule to smash the record by almost three minutes.
Jepchirchir went on to win in 2:16:16, finishing seven seconds ahead of Tigist Assefa. Joyciline Jepkosgei was third (2:16:24) and Megertu Alemu fourth (2:16:34), making it the first marathon in which four women finished inside 2:17.
It was a major statement for the Olympics champion who will head to the Paris 2024 Games full of confidence that she can retain her title despite the tough competition expected.
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Jepchirchir will be joined by two-time Boston Marathon winner Hellen Obiri and former world record holder Brigid Kosgei on the streets of Paris in search for gold.