Radcliffe shatters women's marathon record

Briton Paula Radcliffe produced one of the great athletics feats of all time to shatter the women's world marathon record by one minute and 29 seconds at the Chicago marathon on Sunday.

A brilliant second-half surge took her to victory in an astonishing two hours 17 minutes 18 seconds.

Radcliffe broke the previous record of 2:18:47 set by Catherine Ndereba of Kenya in the Chicago marathon last October.

Ndereba had to settle for second place on Sunday more than two minutes behind Radcliffe in 2:19:26.

The delighted winner said: "I knew I was in good shape to run fast. The route was good, the course was fast and the crowd was brilliant."

The victory was worth $100,000 to Radcliffe and the world record brought a $150,000 bonus.

In the men's race, Khalid Khannouchi of the United States pulled away from the field in the last few miles to win his fourth Chicago marathon title in 2:05:56.

There had been hopes the Moroccan-born athlete might break his own world record of 2:05:38 but it was not to be.

Daniel Njenga of Kenya and Toshinari Takaoka of Japan finished second and third, although both were timed at 2:06:16.

As in her dramatic victory in her first ever marathon in London in April, Radcliffe took the lead early and held it throughout.

She punished her closest competitors with a world record pace through the first half and then went even faster in the second.

HELD CLOSE

Ndereba, Masako Chiba of Japan and compatriot Yoko Shibui held close for a time but by the second half of the race only Ndereba was able to live with the Briton.

Though the advantage stretched and narrowed, Ndereba was never able to mount a meaningful challenge.

Cool temperatures and blustery winds appeared to pose little problem as Radcliffe lengthened her lead in the final minutes.

Radcliffe, 28, had served notice of such a moment with her stunning debut marathon in London where she clocked the then second fastest time ever at 2:18:56.

Chicago marathon executive race director Carey Pinkowski predicted Radcliffe could run under two hours 17 minutes.

"In Paula's case, I think she has found the ultimate distance at which she can express herself," Pinkowski said.

Marathon and cross-country success has followed years of unhappy failures on the track. Radcliffe's gutsy front-running style set the pace for the eventual winners at 10,000 metres in the 1999 world championships and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

But with the shattering of the marathon record, Radcliffe joined the likes of American champion Joan Benoit Samuelson and Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen as elite runners who have made profound impacts on the women's event in Chicago.

"It was a perfect race for (Radcliffe) today, she was ready to go and I think she came in here with that exact goal in mind," said Deena Drossin of the United States, who finished sixth.

JAPANESE TIRES

In the men's race, Takaoka made a break from the pack in the 19th mile, followed by Abelkader El Mouaziz of Morocco, Khannouchi, Paul Tergat of Kenya and Njenga. He lengthened that lead significantly, but began to tire in the 23rd mile.

Like the London race in April, where he lowered his own world record by four seconds, Khannouchi saw his opportunity and swiftly closed the gap.

He pulled away from the other members of the trailing group and caught Takaoka near the Chicago lakefront with a little more than two miles to go.

For much of the race it appeared the men's world record would fall as well, but Khannouchi's pace slowed over the final miles as he fought a stiff head wind.

Njenga, whose previous best marathon time was 2:11:01, collapsed briefly at the end of the race. Takaoka, a two-time Olympian, previously ran a 2:09:41 in his only other marathon.

"The second half of the race was quite windy," said Tergat, who finished in fourth place at 2:06:18.

"The most important thing is not the position, but the performance. The time was exceptional."