CHICAGO (AP) - Abel Kirui of Kenya pulled ahead of defending champion Dickson Chumba for good in the final mile to win the Chicago Marathon on Sunday.
Florence Kiplagat of Kenya won her second straight Chicago Marathon women’s title.
The men’s lead alternated between Kirui and Chumba for the last few miles. The 34-year-old Kirui finished the 26.2-mile course in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 23 seconds.
Chumba finished in 2:11:26. The 29-year-old Kenyan won last year’s Chicago Marathon in 2:09:25 and finished third in 2014.
The 29-year-old Kiplagat finished in an unofficial time of 2:21:32. She posted a winning time of 2:23:33 in Chicago last year and placed third in 2014.
The top five men’s finishers and top four women were all Kenyans.
In the men’s field, Gideon Kipketer was third (2:12:20), Paul Lonyangata was fourth (2:13:17) and Stephen Sambu was fifth (2:13:35).
Edna Kiplalgat (2:23:28) was second in the women’s division. Valentine Kipketer was third (2:23:41) and Purity Rionoripo was fourth (2:24:47).
The women’s field also included Visiline Jepkesho of Kenya, who won the Paris Marathon earlier this year. Chicago Marathon spokeswoman Cindy Hamilton said Jepkesho dropped out of the race after the 35-kilometer (21.75-mile) mark and was treated in the medical tent afterward.
Both the men’s and women’s winners won $100,000.
The top American finishers were Diego Estrada of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Serena Burla of Stafford, Virginia.
Estrada placed eighth in the men’s field with a time of 2:13:56. Burla finished in 2:30:40 to place seventh in the women’s division.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair title in 1:32:57 to edge defending champion Kurt Fearnley of Australia, as both crossed the finish line almost simultaneously. Fearnley was seeking his sixth Chicago Marathon wheelchair championship.
Tatyana McFadden of Champaign, Illinois, won the women’s wheelchair crown for the sixth straight time. McFadden finished in 1:42:28 to won this event seven of the last eight years.
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