Women's Marathon Record Broken After 16 Years

This weekend was a big weekend for smashing marathon world records. Brigid Kosgei, a runner for Kenya, beat a 16-year marathon world record at the Chicago Marathon, completing the course in two hours, 14 minutes and four seconds. The previous record was held by UK runner Paula Radcliffe, who set the record at the London Marathon in 2003, holding that two hours, fifteen minutes, and 25 second world record time for over a decade and a half.

After a spate of continuous world record progressions at the turn of the 21st century, the women’s marathon world record stayed stubbornly put. Looking ahead, Kosgei said the women's marathon record could hit a sub 2:10, raising the bar that much higher for the sport.

In Vienna this weekend, another Kenyan runner, Eluid Kipchoge, unofficially broke another marathon world record, finishing the 26.2-mile course in less than two hours, a major and elusive milestone. The time doesn’t officially count for the world record because standard competition rules controlling pacing and fluids weren’t in place. Kipchoge beat the world record last year in Berlin, with a time of two hours, one minute, and thirty-nine seconds.