THE STANDARD - The irresistible force in marathon running did it again last evening as Samuel Wanjiru blazed the Chicago Marathon course with a new best mark of 2:05:41 after running unchallenged in the last 10km to earn a staggering Sh70.35m.Wanjiru completed his epic victory that is also an American record in the chilly marathon to confirm his status as the third Kenyan winner of the World Marathon Majors series that carries with it the $500,000 (Sh38m) jackpot. Omar Ahmed (Robert ‘Mwafrika’ Cheruiyot) and Martin Lel are the others.
In addition, the Olympic champion and championship record holder (2:06:32) will also pocket $100,000 (Sh7.6m) for shattering the old course mark of 2:05:42 set by Khalid Khannouchi in 1999. Moroccan Abderrahim Goumri (2:06:04) charged late to overtake Vincent Kipruto (2:06:08) for second with the Kenyan hanging on to third.
Add the $75,000 (Sh5.75) winner’s purse and the reported $250,000 (Sh19m) appearance fee and Wanjiru’s slightly over two hour’s day in office netted a mind boggling Sh70.35m! Of course, this figure is subject to tax and agent fees deductions but nonetheless, it is phenomenal considering he is yet to celebrate his 23rd birthday.
Wanjiru threw down the gauntlet after 20 miles to drop Charles Munyeki and Kipruto. The early pace was ridiculously fast in the men’s race.
Sports Network - Kenya's Sammy Wanjiru was victorious in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, finishing with a record time of 2:05:41, edging Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri.
Wanjiru bested the previous U.S. mark by one second held by Khalid Khannouchi, who claimed the 1999 Chicago Marathon.
The Kenyan received $75,000 for the victory and an additional $100,000 for his record finish.
Goumri made a late surge to take the runner-up spot with a time of 2:06:04, with Kenya's Vincent Kipruto claimed the third spot.
On the women's side, Liliya Shobukhova of Russia was a winner in just her second marathon. The 21-year-old finished in 2:25:56, besting Germany's Irina Mikitenko of Germany with a time of 2:26:31. Defending champion Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia took third place.
Sportsmail - Kenya's Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru has stormed to a superb victory in the Chicago marathon, toppling the course record to set the fastest mark ever on US soil.
The 22-year-old, who also won the London marathon in April, completed Chicago's flat course on a chilly day under cloudy skies in 2:05:41.
Wanjiru trimmed one second off the mark set by Khalid Khannouchi in 1999, but hopes he might beat the world record of 2:03:59 set in Berlin in 2008 by Haile Gebrselassie proved optimistic.
Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri finished second in in 2:06:04, with Vincent Kipruto of Kenya third in 2:06:08.
New York Times - Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya has made a career of shattering records and blurring past city skylines, blowing by his sluggish pacesetters with a frustrated frown.
No one can keep up with him these days, and that made racing against the world record time on Sunday in frigid conditions at the Chicago Marathon that much more challenging. Running into a chilly headwind in the final four miles and without anyone pushing him, Wanjiru, the reigning Olympic champion, he had to be satisfied with the course record.
But even that was surprisingly in doubt. In the final agonizing feet before he hit the tape, Wanjiru nearly missed that record and a lucrative payday by waiving his arms in premature celebration. Instead, he had one second to spare.
In his first trip to the United States, and on a day that warmed only to 36 degrees, the 22-year-old Wanjiru ran the fastest marathon on American soil — 2 hours, 5 minutes and 41 seconds. And with that, he collected the $100,000 bonus to go with his $75,000 first prize.
“I was really happy to see I was the winner,” Wanjiru said, explaining why he celebrated so early. He said he had not known about the course record mark until later. “It was a bit unbelievable to take by one second the record,” he said with a laugh.
Wanjiru has now won four of his last five marathons in the two years since moving up from the half-marathon — all before he turns 23 next month — and he set course records in all: his debut marathon in Fukuoka, Japan, in December 2007, the Beijing Olympics, the London race this past April and now today.
He finished easily ahead of Abderrahim Goumri, of Morocco, who did not run in the lead pack all morning. That strategy paid off as Goumri calmly picked off the runners whom Wanjiru exhausted and finished second in 2:06:04.
Already a three-time runner-up in New York and London, Goumri, 31, nonetheless was satisfied with another tactical performance. Vincent Kipruto, 22, crossed the line in 2:06:08 to finish third.
The women’s race did not benefit from having pacemakers, so the speed was positively pedestrian in the first two-thirds of the course. That allowed a pack of six, and then four women, to trade elbows in the final miles.
Liliya Shobukhova, of Russia, who has run the sixth-fastest 5,000-meters in history, then stormed to victory in a time of 2:25:56, running nearly six minutes faster in the second half of the race than the first. Irina Mikitenko of Germany, the two-time London Marathon champion, finished second in 2:26:31. Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia was third in 2:26:47. The American Deena Kastor, in her first marathon back since breaking her foot at the 2008 Olympics, was sixth in 2:28:50.
Shobukhova was thrilled with only her second marathon, although said she was expecting far warmer temperatures. Perhaps she had gotten the weather forecast from 2007 when the thermometer soared to 89 degrees.
“Despite the fact that it’s cold most of the time in Russia, it’s still too cold for the marathon,” she said through a translator. She made no apologies for the languid half-marathon pace. “In such weather conditions, there is no other way to run,” she said.
The conditions needed to be just right here for Wanjiru to break the world record time of 2:03:59, set by Haile Gebrselassie at last year’s Berlin marathon when he enjoyed a pacesetter through 21 miles.
After carrying Wanjiru to world-record half-marathon pace — 1:02:01 — the pacesetters dropped out, one by one, earlier than anticipated. The last of the four pacesetters — the 2007 Chicago champion Patrick Ivuti — dropped out in the 16th mile on Sunday.
Wanjiru surged ahead in the 22nd mile, as if to test his competitors, Kipruto and Charles Munyeki, 23. And then a minute later, he made his biggest move. He powered to the course record that had been set by Moroccan-born Khalid Khannouchi.
After the race, Goumri suggested that Wanjiru should “change the tactic” in order to get the world record. “He’s a strong athlete, he can do very good things in the marathon,” Goumri said. “You should have two or three years for the marathon, then you can do the world record.”
In response, Wanjiru shrugged and indicated in his comments that Goumri should try running from his usual position. “When you try to break the record — you run in front,” Wanjiru said.
That was a problem when the wind — gusting to more than 10 miles — kicked in during the final four miles, working against him, Wanjiru said. And then there was the cold, too.
The temperature was 33 at the start, the coldest race in Chicago since 2002, and quite the contrast to the last two years, when the thermometer soared into the 80s.
Wanjiru said he knew that by the 40K mark, less than two miles to go, he would not get the world record.
In the final 100 feet, Wanjiru’s right arm was ticking off the seconds, as he grimaced and gritted his teeth. Even his celebration could not stop him.
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