Kiptum lead world class elites that will compete in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday

The stage is set for the 2023 Chicago Marathon, where over 45,000 runners are expected to compete on Sunday 8 October.

In the men’s elite field, ten runners boast a personal best under 2 hours and 10 minutes, including defending champion Benson Kipruto and fellow Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum, who holds the second-fastest time ever recorded in a marathon.

Ruth Chepngetich, the defending champion in the women’s elite field, faces a strong challenge from 2023 London Marathon winner Sifan Hassan.

Kipruto will try to defend his title from 2022, where he pulled ahead of his competitors in the 25th mile to set the fourth-fastest time in the event's history with a time of 2:04:24.

Should the 32-year-old succeed in winning again, he will become the first in the men’s field to achieve back-to-back victories since Sammy Wanjiru in 2010.

However, this year's competition promises to be fierce, as the second-fastest man of all time, Kelvin Kiptum, makes his US marathon debut. In April, the Kenyan missed out on Eliud Kipchoge’s world record by just 16 seconds, claiming this year’s London Marathon in 2:01:25.

Olympic bronze medallist Bashir Abdi is hoping to challenge the Kenyan duo. This spring, the Belgian secured the top spot at the Rotterdam Marathon, and he currently holds the European marathon record of 2:03:36.

2021 Chicago Marathon winner Seifu Tura of Ethiopia finished second last year behind Kipruto and will be eager to reclaim the top spot on

the podium.

Ruth Chepngetich and Sifan Hassan headline women’s field

In the women’s race, defending champion Chepngetich returns to the starting line in Chicago after setting what is now the third-fastest marathon time ever last year, finishing in 2:14:18. The main challenger for the former world marathon champion is expected to be Sifan Hassan, the Olympic gold medallist in the 5,000m and 10,000m.

The 30-year-old Dutchwoman achieved a personal best of 2:18.33, winning the 2023 London Marathon.

Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei, boasting two major marathon wins, will run in Chicago for the first time, while among the outsiders is Genzebe Dibaba, the Rio 2016 silver medallist in the 1500m event, who made her marathon debut in Amsterdam last year, completing the race in an impressive 2:18:05.

In total, there are eight runners in the women's field with personal bests under the 2-hour and 20-minute mark.