Three straight for women’s marathon winner
Liliya Shobukhova made history Sunday at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Shobukhova became the first three-peat Chicago champion — male or female — by capturing the race with a personal best time of 2:18:20.
Her time — the fastest for a woman in the world this year — also set a Russian record and virtually assured her of a spot on the country’s Olympic team for the Summer Games in London next year.
Russia will select its team based on the two fastest times posted between Sept. 1 and the end of the year. They reserve one spot as well.
“I am so happy with my time and my result,” said Shobukhova through a translator. “I am overwhelmed right now. I am shocked. For all the work I’ve done, I’m finally getting appreciation.
“To be in the history of the Chicago Marathon is something special for me.”
Shobukhova earned $140,000 for the win — $100,000 for finishing first and a $40,000 time bonus for finishing under 2:20. She also cemented her World Marathon Majors title and an additional $500,000 payday.
Following Shobukhova in the top five were Ejegayehu Dibaba of Ethiopia (2:22:09), Kayoko Fukushi of Japan (2:24:38), Ethiopian Belainesh Zemedku Gebre (2:26:17) and Christelle Daunay of France (2:26:41). The top American runner was Jeannette Faber, who finished 10th in 2:36:58.
On a warm day with the temperature at the start at 7:30 a.m. at 64 degrees, the lead women quickly took command.
After three miles, the lead pack that emerged was Shobukhova, Fukushi and Dibaba.
The trio kept each other close, clocking in at the halfway point in 1:09:25. For Shobukhova, that time was 35 seconds faster than her Chicago Marathon run last year.
But when they hit the 16th mile Shobukhova’s sprinter instinct took over, and she pulled ahead for good. She ran the rest of the race by herself, looking comfortable as she clicked off the miles into the record books.
“To run sub 2:20, I had to use new tactics and try something else,” Shobukhova said. “That is why I tried different tactics to go fast right away. My track background helps me a lot. According to plan, we were training for 2:19. I’m overwhelmed. I’m shocked (to have run 2:18).”
Shobukhova ran the second half of the marathon in 1:08:55.
The silver medalist at 10,000 meters in the 2004 Olympics, Dibaba was making her marathon debut. Her finish was the third-fastest debut marathoner in history. She was dealing with a strain in her left calf from about a week ago but didn’t use that as an excuse.
“I did my best, so I am happy,” said Dibba through a translator. “It is my first time running a road race.”
Shobukhova, however, has plenty of experience on the road, and it showed. She rated her performance a “10,” as did her coach.
“That is a result of working, sweating and running in extreme weather conditions,” said Shobukhova who noted that where she resides in Russia (Beloretsk) already has a lot of snow.
“The weather is gorgeous and perfect — golden trees. I don’t want to leave Chicago.”