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World Athletics has ratified Kelvin Kiptum’s world record set in Chicago last year in what is seen as a big morale boost ahead of the Rotterdam Marathon in April.

Kiptum is now officially the world record holder after running 2:00:35 and becoming the first athlete to break 2:01 in a record-eligible marathon.

In his record-breaking show, the 23-year-old took 34 seconds off the world record, previously held by Eliud Kipchoge.

It was not only a world-breaking record, but Kiptum also upgraded his personal best by 50 seconds, surpassing the world record of 2:01:09 set by Kipchoge in Berlin on September 25, 2022.

In Chicago, the Chepkorio-born star pushed the pace throughout the race and broke away from a seven-strong lead group after reaching 5km in 14:26, joined by his compatriot Daniel Mateiko.

At the 10km mark, Kiptum and Mateiko were at a world record pace, passing in 28:42, but the tempo dropped a little, and they reached halfway in 1:00:48.

After 30km was passed in 1:26:31, Kiptum kicked and dropped Mateiko. A blistering 5km split of 13:51 took him to the 35km checkpoint in 1:40:22, and he was on sub-2:01 pace, 49 seconds ahead of Mateiko.

Continuing to run with urgency, Kiptum passed 40km in 1:54:23, after a 27:52 10km split. He went on to win the race by almost three and a half minutes, crossing the finish line at 2:00:35.

Focus on Rotterdam

After the ratification of his record, Kiptum’s sole focus is the upcoming competition in the Netherlands.

The Rotterdam Marathon is a World Athletics Gold Label road race but is not counted as a world major. However, Kiptum hopes to reign supreme when he races in the Dutch city. The marathoner ran on the Rotterdam course in 2019, but as a pacemaker, he hopes to make his debut next year.