Atsede Baysa wins Chicago Marathon’s women title

Chicago – Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo raised her arms in celebration, but it was Ethiopian Atsede Baysa who narrowly edged out her competition Sunday in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon women’s race in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 3 seconds.

Rarely does a marathon end in a near-photo finish but the down-to-the-wire finale between the two women made for an exhilarating race and the closest in Chicago Marathon history.

Only in 2009 were the winners also separated officially by just one second, but the official records do not separate times by less than a second.

Baysa had cracked a smile in the last mile, a few paces ahead of Jeptoo but Jeptoo challenged. Jeptoo took the lead on one of the final corners but Baysa challenged again and the two sprinted for the finish line. Jeptoo’s official time was a second behind but it looked as close as a 100-meter finish. Read more