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Retired female marathoners including Mary Keitany and Paula Radcliffe are among the fastest marathoners in the world.
Kenya and Ethiopia are known to produce some of the greatest female marathoners of all time, including Brigid Kosgei of Kenya and Amane Beriso of Ethiopia, who are among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
Meanwhile, the six World Marathon Majors (WMM) have been known to be some of the most lucrative races because of the prize money, and definitely, an athlete will be keen to run their fastest times to increase their chances of getting the top prize and also increase their ranking to make it to the list of top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
The WMM include the Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon, New York City Marathon, Boston Marathon, Tokyo Marathon, and London Marathon. In this article, we review the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
Top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world (2023)
10. Peres Jepchirchir
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Peres Jepchirchir is a Kenyan long-distance runner aged 29 years who courtesy of her smart running style, has made it to the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world list. Jepchirchir achieved the status of being the 10th fastest female marathoner after clocking 2:17:16 at the 2020 Valencia Marathon.
Besides being among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world, Jepchirchir also became the first athlete to have the Olympic marathon title, Boston Marathon, and New York City Marathon.
She has only lost two out of the six marathons she has competed in so far. She settled for third place at the Kisumu International Marathon when she was debuting and at the 2023 London Marathon.
9. Mary Keitany
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Mary Keitany is a 41-year-old Kenyan long-distance runner who also prides herself in being among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world. She kickstarted he marathon career in 2011. She became the ninth fastest female marathoner after running 2:17:01, a world record, during the 2017 London Marathon.
Apart from being a former world record holder, Keitany is also a former African record holder after posting 2:18:37 at the 2012 London Marathon.
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08:14 - 22.04.2023
ATHLETICS Peres Jepchirchir eyeing world record in London Marathon
The Kenyan will be lining up as the third fastest in the field with a personal best time of 2:17:16.
She is also a four-time New York City Marathon champion and a three-time London Marathon champion. Keitany hang her boots from the competition in 2021.
8. Tsehay Gemechu
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Tsehay Gemechu is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who, just at 24, has already competed in two marathons and made it to the list of the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
Gemechu made her debut at the 2022 Amsterdam Marathon where she displayed a brilliant show to seal the podium in 2:18:59.
She then competed at this year’s Tokyo Marathon where she achieved an impressive second-place finish in a time of 2:16:56.
7. Letesenbet Gidey
Letesenbet Gidey is a 25-year-old Ethiopian long-distance runner who made her debut in the full marathon during last year’s Valencia Marathon and the time she posted at the event saw her become among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world. Her dominant win of 2:16:49 at the event made her the seventh-fastest female marathoner.
Gidey, a world 10,000m champion, is the current world record holder over the 5,000m and half marathon, which she set in October 2020 in Valencia, June 2021 in the Netherlands, and October 2021 in Valencia, respectively.
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10:01 - 18.02.2023
ATHLETICS Beatrice Chebet over the moon after surprising win at the World X-country Champs
Chebet admitted that she had already given up on the title chase and had made peace with settling for second place.
Her record in the half marathon makes her the first debutant to set a world record in the event. It is no surprise that the world 10,000m champion has made it to the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
6. Rosemary Wanjiru
Rosemary Wanjiru is a 28-year-old Kenyan runner specializing in long-distance races and she also brags of having a seat among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
She has only competed in two marathons and she made her debut over the 42km distance at the Berlin Marathon where she finished second in 2:18:00.
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07:16 - 05.03.2023
ATHLETICS Rosemary Wanjiru claims Tokyo Marathon title as men endure tough outing
The women’s title now remains in the country for the second time consecutively after Brigid Kosgei’s win last year.
Wanjiru became the sixth-fastest female marathoner after winning the 2023 Tokyo Marathon in a time of 2:16:28.
5. Tigist Assefa
Tigist Assefa, 29, is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who was formerly an 800m race specialist, thanks to her switch from the track since she is now among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
Assefa switched to road running in 2018 and eventually made her debut over marathon distance at the 2022 Riyadh Marathon where she settled for seventh place in 2:34:01. The time she posted at the time could not allow her a slot in the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
Assefa then went ahead to win the Berlin Marathon later last year in a time of 2:15:37 to become the fifth-fastest female marathoner in the world.
4. Paula Radcliffe
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Paula Radcliffe, a former British long-distance runner, cemented her place n the highly competitive scheme and make it to the list of the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world when she clocked 2:15:25 at the 2003 London Marathon, a world record.
During the 2002 edition of the Chicago Marathon, she had set a world record of 2:17:18 before shattering it the following year.
Radcliffe made her marathon debut at the 2002 London Marathon and won the race in 2:18:55, the second-quickest time in women's marathon history at the time. Later in 2002, she became the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, making her the first woman in over a decade to be honoured with the accolade.
She is the former world record holder for the women's road 10k in a time of 30:21. She retired from competitive races in 2015.
3. Amane Beriso
Amane Beriso, 31, is a long-distance runner from Ethiopia who is a perfect definition of patience pays owing to the fact that it took time for her to make it to the list of the top 10 fastest female marathoners. She made her debut over the full marathon at the Dubai Standard Chartered Marathon where she settled for second place in 2:20:48.
In 2017, she competed at the Praha Marathon where she was also second, and went ahead to settle for sixth place at the 2018 Toronto Waterfront Marathon, both times, she was nowhere near the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
She came back in 2020 and won the Tata Mumbai Marathon and came back to win the 2022 Valencia Marathon and clocked the third-fastest time in marathon history (2:14:58).
2. Ruth Chepng’etich
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Ruth Chepng’etich, 28, is a Kenyan road racing athlete, who competes in the marathon and other long-distance events and she brags of a second place among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
The 2019 world marathon champion owned her place among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world after displaying a brilliant show to win the 2022 Chicago Marathon in a time of 2:14:18. Chepng’etich is also a former world half marathon record holder after she won the 2021 Istanbul Half Marathon in a time of 1:04:02.
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10:43 - 17.02.2023
ATHLETICS Ruth Chepng'etich confirmed for Nagoya Marathon in March
Chepng'etich is also the 2019 World Marathon champion and the 2018 Istanbul Marathon champion.
She is a two-time Chicago Marathon champion and she placed third in the 2020 London Marathon.
1. Brigid Kosgei
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Brigid Kosgei is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon and she brags about topping the list of the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
The 29-year-old became the world record holder over the distance after reigning supreme at the 2019 Chicago Marathon where she clocked 2:14:04 to cut the tape and cement her place among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
Kosgei began running at the tender age of 17 and was being trained by her boyfriend who is now her husband, Matthew Kosgei.
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11:38 - 23.04.2023
ATHLETICS Shock as Brigid Kosgei withdraws from London Marathon a few minutes into the race
During last year's edition of the event, Kosgei also had to withdraw from the race due to a knee injury.
She made her debut over the marathon distance at the 2015 Porto Marathon and she won the race in 2:47:59, however, the time she posted was not enough for a slot among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world and she was forced to dig deeper.
She has won nine out of the 15 marathons she has competed in her career. She surely deserves to be among the top 10 fastest female marathoners in the world.
Just like any athlete, she has had her bad days and her worst performance was during the 2017 Boston Marathon where she was eighth.
She has, however, been battling a series of injuries since last year which saw her withdraw from the London Marathon twice.
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