Korir Defends Chicago Marathon as Mantz and Linkletter Seek Records

Defending champion John Korir of Kenya returns to Chicago on Sunday, October 12, to defend his Bank of America Chicago Marathon title, seek a personal best and raise funds for a scholarship program as the race features one of the deepest elite fields of the year and possible record bids on multiple fronts. The 47th edition starts and finishes in Grant Park on a flat, fast course that produced the 2:00:35 world record in 2023.

Korir, 28, arrives off a training block he calls more intense than his Boston buildup, splitting sessions between Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia counties and logging peak weeks as high as about 270 kilometers. He won Chicago in 2:02:44 last year, the second-fastest time in the race’s history, and also claimed the Boston Marathon this April. Korir said he is not putting pressure on himself but told reporters he aims “for something special” and will donate 10 percent of his race earnings to a scholarship program for athletes at Transcend Talent Academy in Cherangany, started by his brother.

The men’s field includes half-marathon world record-holder Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda, last year’s competitors Timothy Kiplagat, Amos Kipruto, Cybrian Kotut, Philemon Kiplimo,...