The 2022 London Marathon champion Amos Kipruto, former women’s marathon world record-holder Brigid Kosgei and two-time Boston Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi will be in the spotlight on Sunday as they spearhead Kenya’s charge for honours at the Chicago Marathon.
Kipruto will be hoping to finally land his maiden Chicago Marathon title after two successive podium finishes in the
American city.
In 2024, he made his Chicago debut with a third-place finish after clocking 2:04:50.
That race saw his compatriot John Korir storm to victory in 2:02:44, while Ethiopia’s Mohamed Esa settled for second place in 2:04:39.
At last year’s edition, Kipruto improved on his debut performance, climbing one place higher to finish second in 2:03:54, behind Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who stormed to victory in 2:02:23.
Alex Masai completed the all-African podium after clocking 2:04:37.
Kipruto heads to Chicago buoyed by a strong 2026 campaign.
He opened his season on April 26 at the London Marathon, where he narrowly missed out on a podium finish, settling for fourth place in 2:01:39.
The race, however, belonged to his training partner Sabastian Sawe, who stole the headlines by shattering the men’s marathon world record and becoming the first man in history to break the two-hour barrier in an officially recognised marathon, clocking 1:59:30.
Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha also dipped under the two-hour mark, finishing second in 1:59:41, while Kiplimo completed the podium in 2:00:28.
Following his exploits on the streets of London, Kipruto briefly switched his focus to the track, lining up in the men’s 5,000m at the National Police Service (NPS) Track and Field Championships on May 20, where he finished fourth in 14:02.12.
Andrew Alamisi won the race in 13:49.98, ahead of Stephen Kipkech, who clocked 13:55.22, and Naibei Mayebei, who completed the top three in 13:57.01.
Kipruto will be joined by fellow Kenyans Daniel Mateiko and Masai.
In the women’s race, Lokedi will be making her maiden appearance on the streets of Chicago.
Although she is unfamiliar with the Chicago course, Lokedi boasts vast experience competing in major marathons on American soil.
Her impressive resume includes back-to-back Boston Marathon titles in 2025 and 2026, the 2022 New York City Marathon crown, as well as runner-up finishes in Boston in 2024 and New York in 2025.
Lokedi arrives in Chicago in strong road-racing form this year.
She opened her campaign with a second-place finish at the New York Half Marathon in 1:07:10 before successfully defending her Boston Marathon crown in 2:18:51.
Her momentum suffered a minor setback at the New York 10K, where she faded to seventh in 31:44, but she responded emphatically by bouncing back to win the Boston 10K in 31:28.
However, Lokedi’s pursuit of the Chicago crown faces a stern examination from one of Kenya’s most accomplished female distance runners, Kosgei, whose name is already etched into the history of the race.
Kosgei returns to a course where she produced one of the most remarkable performances in marathon history, smashing the women’s world record at the 2019 Chicago Marathon.
The 32-year-old clocked a sensational 2:14:04 to rewrite the record books in 2019, having won the previous edition in 2:18:35.
Kosgei has already had a flying start to 2026 having won the Tokyo Marathon in March timing 2:14:29.
The Kenyan challenge will also feature Brillian Kipkoech, Loice Chemnung, Joan Chelimo, Magdalyne Masai and Mary Ngugi.
Adding further strength to the women’s field is defending champion Hawi Feysa of Ethiopia, who will be determined to retain the title she claimed last year after storming to victory in 2:14:57.
