Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon, three-time New York Marathon champion, the 2002 Chicago Marathon winner and the 2005 World Champion in the Marathon from Helsinki. She was previously the fastest female marathoner of all time, and held the Women's World Marathon Record with a time of 2:15:25 for 16 years from 2003 to 2019 when it was broken by Brigid Kosgei.
Edith Chewanjel Masai is a Kenyan former long-distance runner who specialised in cross country and track races, then road races in her late career. She represented Kenya at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her best achievements are three individual gold medals in the short race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships between 2002 and 2004.
Paul Kibii Tergat is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished long-distance runners of all time. Runnerworld called him the "Most comprehensive runner of all time".
Catherine Nyambura Ndereba is a retired Kenyan marathon runner. Between 2003 and 2008, she finished in the top two in five successive global championship marathons. Ndereba has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008, becoming Kenya's first female multi-medalist. She is also a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon and a two-time winner of the Chicago Marathon. It was at the latter in 2001 that she broke the women's marathon world record with a time of 2:18:47.
Mizuki Noguchi is a Japanese professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon event. She is an Olympic champion over the distance.
Liliya Bulatovna Shobukhova, née Shagbalova, Divorced name Volkova, is a Russian long-distance runner who competed in marathon races. She previously specialized in the 3000 and 5000 metres track events. She served a doping ban until 23 August 2015.
Robert "Mwafrika" Kipkoech Cheruiyot, sometimes known as Omar Ahmed, is a Kenyan marathon runner and is the former record holder and four-time winner of the Boston Marathon.
Robert Cheboror is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon.
Tadese Tola is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He has represented Ethiopia at World championship level in cross country, road running, and on the track.
Mary Jepkosgei Keitany is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. She was the world record holder in a women-only marathon, having won the 2017 London Marathon in a time of 2:17:01. As of November 2022, she placed fifth on the world all-time list at the marathon and eleventh on the respective world all-time list for the half marathon.
The women's marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on August 17 around an urban circuit specifically designed for the competition at Beijing, and finished in the Beijing National Stadium; it was, as of today, the last time in Summer Olympics history in which women's marathon route start and/or finish was located in the Olympic Stadium. The qualifying standards were 2:37.00 and 2:42.00. There were a total number of 82 competitors from 42 nations.
Anne Jepkemboi Kosgei is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running, including the marathon. She has won her first marathon races in San Sebastián and Trieste, and went on to win both the Belgrade Marathon and Venice Marathon in 2009. She set her personal best of 2:27:46 at the latter competition.
The 2015 London Marathon was the 35th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 26 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Ethiopian Tigist Tufa. The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships marathon events were also held during the race. The men's wheelchair race was won by Josh George from the United States and the women's wheelchair race was won by American Tatyana McFadden. McFadden set a course record for the second year running.
Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She won the 2018 and 2019 Chicago Marathons, the 2019 and 2020 London Marathons and the 2021 Tokyo Marathon. Kosgei was the marathon world record holder for women running in a mixed-sex race, with a time of 2:14:04 achieved on 13 October 2019 at the Chicago Marathon. She won the silver medal in the marathon event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Ruth Chepng'etich, often spelled Ruth Chepngetich, is a Kenyan road racing athlete, who competes in the marathon and other long distance events. She was the 2019 Marathon World champion in hot and humid conditions. Chepng'etich twice won the Chicago Marathon, in 2021 and 2022. Her personal best in the marathon sits second on the world's all-time list. She holds the third-fastest mark of all time for the half marathon.
Anastasia Ndereba is a Kenyan female athlete and marathon runner. She was born on September 27, 1974. She is the sister of the more renowned athlete and Olympic Medalist Katherine Ndereba. Her first recorded professional competition was on November 6, 1999, when she completed the 8 km Senior Women's Cross-country race organised by the KAAA, where she finished 4th in a time of 34 minutes and 32 seconds. She debuted as an IAAF athlete officiated by the IAAF in 2001, when she competed in the 3,000 women's B category in Rieti, Italy and emerged 7th with a time of 9 minutes, 12.95 seconds.
The 2019 Chicago Marathon was the 42nd annual running of the Chicago Marathon held in Chicago, Illinois, United States on October 13, 2019. The men's race was won by Kenyan Lawrence Cherono in 2:05:45 while the women's was won by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei in 2:14:04, a world record by 81 seconds. The men's and women's wheelchair races were won by Daniel Romanchuk and Manuela Schär in 1:30:26 and 1:41:08, respectively. More than 45,000 runners completed the race.
The 2002 Chicago Marathon was the 25th running of the annual marathon race in Chicago, United States and was held on October 13. The elite men's race was won by Morocco's Khalid Khannouchi in a time of 2:05:56 hours and the women's race was won by British athlete Paula Radcliffe in 2:17:18. Radcliffe's time was a new marathon world best, knocking 89 seconds off the previous mark by Catherine Ndereba. The record only lasted six months, as Radcliffe improved it again at the 2003 London Marathon.
The 2002 London Marathon was the 22nd running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on Sunday, 14 April. The elite men's race was won by Khalid Khannouchi of the United States in a time of 2:05:38 hours and the women's race was won by home athlete Paula Radcliffe in 2:18:56. Khannouchi's time was a marathon world record, improving on his own record by four seconds. Radcliffe was also close to a world record, just nine seconds off the time set by Catherine Ndereba the previous year.
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