Fresh off world record run, Kosgei thinks women can go even faster

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Like any true competitor, Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei does not plan to coast on her latest accomplishment — even if that happens to be running the fastest-ever women’s marathon. Hours after shattering Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old world record, running the Chicago Marathon in two hours, 14 minutes and four seconds, the 25-year-old said Kosgei believes any number of competitors could beat her. “If a lady can prepare good and they have no injury... they can reduce to reduce to 2:12 or one minute to 2:13,” Kosgei told a news conference. But while she stopped short of pointing to a 2:10:00 marathon for herself, she made clear that her sole goal is getting even faster. “I’m still focusing to reduce my time again – if it’s possible,” Kosgei said. “If my body would be good (I could) reduce little by little, slowly.” While her year-to-year career improvement could hardly be described as “slow,” it has been steady. In 2017 and 2018 she finished the Chicago Marathon in 2:20:22 and 2:18:35, respectively, after logging a year-end best time of 2:24:45 at Lisbon in 2016. The 25-year-old arrived in the Windy City as an overwhelming favourite, having won the race in 2018.