Simply 5 months after setting the American document for the half-marathon in Indianapolis, Emily Sisson repeated that honor on a good larger scale: On October 9, Sisson set the American document within the marathon along with her second-place end on the Chicago Marathon.
Sisson ran 2:18:29, shaving 43 seconds off the earlier document, which was set by Keira D’Amato earlier this yr. She completed simply over 4 minutes behind Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich, who gained the 26.2-mile race for the second yr straight and missed setting a brand new world document by 14 seconds, in line with NBC Sports activities. Kenya’s Vivian Jerono Kiplagat earned third.
Whereas Sisson’s 2022 has been record-breaking, she hasn’t had a clean course main as much as it. Sisson, now 30, entered the Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta in 2020 as one of many favorites, however ended up dropping out of the hilly course by mile 22. It was the final mass marathon she raced till Chicago this weekend.
“The Olympic marathon trials, that broke my coronary heart,” Sisson advised NBC Sports activities. “Normally I’m good at shifting on from unhealthy races, however I actually struggled with that one. There was nothing to maneuver on to, and my physique wasn’t feeling good, even when there was.”
Quickly after the marathon trials, the Olympics introduced its postponement to 2021, and the monitor trails have been pushed again to 2021 as effectively. Sisson—who races each shorter monitor distances and longer highway distances—had an additional yr to prep for the ten,000 meter trials, and ended up profitable the race. She headed to Tokyo for her Olympic debut in 2021, and completed tenth within the 10,000-meter occasion (10,000 meters is 6.2 miles).
Following her Olympic expertise, Sisson advised Runner’s World that she deliberate to focus solely on the roads for 2022. Her physique wants a break by the tip of monitor season, she mentioned, which makes it arduous to get into marathon buildup.
“I really feel very assured in that call [not to run track],” she mentioned to Runner’s World. “I do love the monitor. However I actually wish to see what I can do on the roads.”
That call paid off massive: In Indianapolis in Could, she set the American document within the half-marathon by operating 1:07:11, after trying to interrupt it twice earlier than and lacking it by a handful of seconds every time.
“Third time is a attraction,” Sisson wrote on Instagram after clinching the 13.1-mile American document.
Her concentrate on long-distance coaching has continued to reap dividends in Chicago. In response to The New York Instances, Sisson was assured going into the race, and mentioned she would go for the American document if she was “having a great day.” She ended up negative-splitting the race—that means she completed the second half (the final 13 miles) faster than the primary.
Following the race, Sisson met up with D’Amato and American distance operating legends Deena Kastor—who held the American marathon document till 2006—and Joan Benoit Samuelson, the primary Olympic Marathon champion.
“It is superb,” Sisson mentioned to NBC Chicago. “I imply, the ladies standing right here immediately, they’ve all completed a lot, so simply to be amongst them is an unbelievable honor.”
D’Amato, who served as a race analyst for NBC Chicago in the course of the occasion, mentioned it was “fairly emotional” to be there when Sisson broke her American document. D’Amato had solely set the earlier document in January 2022 on the Houston Marathon, as SELF reported earlier this yr.
“I’m simply actually pleased with Emily immediately, feeling a part of the legacy to maintain shifting the bar ahead for American girls,” D’Amato mentioned within the broadcast.
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