CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 12: Conner Mantz of the United States celebrates breaking an American marathon record with a time of 2:04:43 during the 2025 Chicago Marathon on October 12, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
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Clocking the seventh-fastest marathon of all-time, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo won the 47th annual Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday in a time of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 23 seconds.
Three places later, former Brigham Young University star Conner Mantz followed, breaking a 23-year-old American record with a time of 2:04:43.
Last recorded by Khalid Khannouchi at the 2002 London Marathon, the 28-year-old Mantz drilled down on the final miles in Chicago, improving upon his sixth-place finish in 2023 in 2:07:47. He made the switch to the distance in 2022, running his first 26.2-mile race that same year in Chicago.
“You run 2:05:08 in Boston and then in your next marathon everyone is going to expect you to go after the American record,” Mantz told LetsRun afterward.
With seven marathons under his belt heading into Chicago, including an eighth-place finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Utah resident knew the all-time mark was well within reach.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 12: Conner Mantz of the United States celebrates breaking an American marathon record with a time of 2:04:43 on October 12, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
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What Led To Conner Mantz’s Record Day
In March, Mantz clocked a time of 2:05:08 at the Boston Marathon, issuing one of the fastest marathons in U.S. history. Only one other performance in the annals of American running (Ryan Hall’s 2:04:58 from Boston in 2011) had ever surpassed it – though neither mark was records-eligible, since Boston is net downhill.
By Sunday, Mantz chased after the milestone. While he was on pace at the half marathon mark in 1:02:19, he nearly panicked at the start of the race when the pace went out in 4:30 – “I was like, ‘Oh crap, I just blew my chance.’” But Mantz laid down critical miles of 4:52 at 23, 4:47 at 24 and 5:05 at 25, setting up his final run-time.
“When I came through (at 1:02), I knew sub-2:04 wasn’t going to happen,” Mantz said. “But I was OK with that.”
On Sunday, he was among 11 American finishers over the first 26 places.
Wesley Kiptoo was the second U.S. athlete across the line in 2:09:02, while three former BYU runners were also in the mix: Aidan Troutner was 18th in 2:10:23; Canadian Rory Linkletter, sporting an epic mullet, came up just 36 seconds short of Canada’s national record, securing a time of 2:06:49; and Casey Clinger was 26th in 2:16:05 in his first marathon.
Galen Rupp, the 39-year-old American star who owned the second-best U.S. performance before Sunday’s record fell, was 16th in 2:09:41.
How The Women Performed On Sunday In Chicago
Ethiopian Geji Fesya claimed the women’s title in 2:14:57, following by her countrywoman Megertu Alemu in 2:17:18.
The top American in the field was Natosha Rogers, who ran a new personal best time of 2:23:28 over 26.2 miles. Dakota Popehn followed over a minute later in 2:24:20.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/corymull/2025/10/12/conner-mantz-breaks-23-year-old-american-record-at-chicago-marathon/
