Ruth Chepngetich sets world record time at Chicago Marathon; Korir takes men’s title

Hug, Debrunner back up Paris 2024 titles in Chicago

In the men’s wheelchair race, it was a flashback to the Paris 2024 Paralympics with Marcel Hug of Switzerland holding off USA’s Daniel Romanchuk, who finished fourth in Paris, in a dramatic final chase.

“It feels incredible, I’m very happy, very satisified. It was a beautiful day for the marathon today, great conditions, great atmosphere,” said Hug, who finished in 1:25:54, four second clear of Romanchuk. “For me, it was really tough. It was a really technical race. I attacked countless times and then, we had a finish sprint and luckily, I won.

“It was a big challenge today with Daniel, he was very strong. I had to work very hard, attack so many times. It didn’t work. He was always following.”

Paralympic bronze medallist Suzuki Tomoki of Japan finished third.

Five-time Paris 2024 gold medallist Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland also capped her spectacular season with a win on Sunday, finishing nearly three minutes ahead of compatriot Manuela Schär, 1:36:12 to 1:39:03.

“It was a really tough race, there was a lot of wind and of course, it’s always tough when you do it all by yourself,” said Debrunner, who distanced herself from the field early. “I struggled quite often, so I was really happy when I was in the finish.”

This year has been like a fairytale, to be honest, with the Paralympics, which was the big goal of this year. It was all about the Paralympics, we planned everything for it,” she continued. “We knew it was going to be a super long season, so we are all tired, but I am really grateful to be here.”