Galen Rupp celebrates after winning the men's race at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 8, 2017 in Chicago.
Three-time Olympian Galen Rupp pulled into the lead in the final three miles and became the first American man to win the Chicago Marathon in 15 years on Sunday. Meanwhile, 17-time Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden got back on the winning track with a victory in the women’s wheelchair race.
With a time of 2 hours 9 minutes, 20 seconds, Rupp beat Kenya’s Abel Kirui by 28 seconds after passing him at the 35K mark. The two-time Olympic medalist (silver in the 10,000-meter in 2012, bronze in the marathon in 2016) is the first American to win the Chicago Marathon since Khalid Khannouchi in 2002. Rupp, 31, of Portland, Oregon, was also second in the Boston Marathon last spring.
The last time an American runner won the Chicago Marathon was Deena Kastor in 2005.
Jordan Hasay, a 26-year-old from Fontana, California, came close to matching the feat in the women’s race. She stayed with the lead pack throughout and finished in third place with a time of 2:20:57. Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba earned the victory in 2:18:31.
Hasay, who trains with Rupp under Alberto Salazar, was third in the Boston Marathon to give the U.S. its best combined male-female finish since 1985. This is now the first time Americans have finished top three in both the men’s and women’s races at the Chicago Marathon since 1985.
In the women’s wheelchair race, five-time Paralympian McFadden made it an unbelievable seven wins in a row at the Chicago Marathon with a time of 1:39:15, breaking her own course record of 1:41:10.
McFadden, who has seven Paralympic gold medals, as well as a silver medal in the marathon in 2016, is the only racer to win all four world major marathons in a single year. She accomplished that feat four times in a row from 2013-16.
The win is also a bounce back for McFadden, who finished fourth at this year’s Boston Marathon following surgery for blood clots in February.
Amanda McGrory finished just behind McFadden for second place. Together, she and McFadden have won every Chicago Marathon since 2007.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
