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With strong late race surges, Kenyan Evans Rutto and Svetlana Zakharova of

Russia burst to convincing wins in the 26th LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on

Sunday (12 October).

In his stunning first appearance over the distance, the 25 year-old Rutto

broke from a seven-man pack in the 19th mile to win in 2:05:50, placing himself

firmly among the four fastest marathoners of all time, with the fastest-ever

marathon debut.

His effort easily bettered Wilson Onsares debut record of 2:06:47 from

Aprils Paris Marathon, Haile Gebrselassies 2:06:35 unofficial debut in the 2002

London Marathon, and was just eight seconds shy of Khalid Khannouchis 1999

course record.

"It sounds very nice," said Rutto, who finished sixth at the 2001

World Half Marathon Championships, when told of his debut record. "I was

feeling very good, and I prepared specifically for this race for the past two

months."

Ruttos decisive move, 4:44 and 4:34 surges in the 20th and 21st miles, built

an insurmountable 17-second gap after 35 k, ending what was until that point a

relatively tight race. He powered on to win by a whopping 1:17.

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