Kenya’s Amos Kipruto and Ethiopia’s Hawi Feysa won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, October 11, 2026. Kipruto finished the men’s race in two hours, one minute and nine seconds; Feysa defended the women’s title in 2:13:33. World Athletics’ same-day race report and Reuters agree on both winning performances.
Kipruto reaches the top step
For Kipruto, the victory completes a steady climb through Chicago’s podium. He finished third in 2024 and second in 2025 before taking the title on his third appearance. The Kenyan broke away from defending champion Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda during the second half and reached the final straight alone, converting previous near-misses into a decisive win rather than another chase to the line.
Ethiopia secured the remaining men’s podium places. Tadese Bikila finished second in 2:02:56, one minute and 47 seconds behind Kipruto, and Milkesa Mengesha was third in 2:03:46. Those results made the men’s top three an entirely East African group, with Kenya taking the title and Ethiopia supplying the two closest finishers.
Feysa settles the women’s duel late
The women’s contest stayed close much later. Feysa and Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi raced together through much of the final six miles, leaving the title undecided until the closing stretch. Reuters reports that Feysa accelerated in the final mile. She opened a 34-second winning margin over Lokedi, whose 2:14:07 secured second place after a sustained challenge to the defending champion.
Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei completed the women’s podium in 2:14:55. World Athletics describes this as the first marathon in which three women finished faster than 2:15. The distinction concerns the depth of one race’s leading results: Feysa, Lokedi and Kosgei all cleared that barrier in the same event. The three times also show how strong a performance was needed simply to reach the podium.
Kipruto’s Chicago win adds to his London Marathon victory in 2022; it is his second World Marathon Majors title. Sunday’s 2:01:09 also improves the 2:01:39 personal best listed in Chicago’s pre-race athlete announcement. Feysa’s success is a consecutive Chicago title, strengthening the Ethiopian’s position at a venue where she had already proved she could win.
An African result on a global stage
This was Chicago’s 48th marathon, with the course starting and finishing in Grant Park. Before race day, organisers expected more than 55,000 participants and described a field drawn from more than 100 countries and all 50 U.S. states. Those are advance participation figures, not a verified count of finishers, but they explain the international stage on which the African champions competed.
For African supporters and communities following the race in the United States, the result has breadth as well as two standout winners. Kenya and Ethiopia shared all six places on the men’s and women’s podiums. The women’s unusually fast top three makes the edition significant beyond the identity of its champions, while Kipruto’s progression offers a clear story of improvement across repeated Chicago appearances.
The results reported here are from the October 11 race, not the 2025 edition or an earlier race preview. Readers can follow the organiser’s official results portal for the full field and World Athletics’ report for the elite-race account. Our accompanying image is a labelled conceptual illustration; it does not depict either winner or document the competition.
