"I would try to run my personal best"- John Korir opens up on motivation he derived from the late Kelvin Kiptum

Kenyan long-distance runner John Korir has opened up about the motivation he derived from the late Kelvin Kiptum to chase his personal best run-time at the Chicago World Marathon Major event. This comes just a few hours after Korir won the men's elite event of the 2024 Chicago Marathon held on Sunday.

Korir clocked a run-time of 2:02:43 to win his first-ever World Marathon Major competition. He also clocked his personal best run-time in marathon events in Chicago. Mohamed Esa and Amos Kipruto followed Korir in second and third place with run-times of 2:04:39 and 2:04:50, respectively.

Following this impressive victory in Chicago, Korir was asked about the motivation he derived from Kiptum after he registered a similar split time during his run. In response to this, the 27-year-old revealed that he was quite motivated by his late compatriot's record breaking performance last year.

"Yeah that motivated me and you know when I was running, I was thinking about, if Kiptum ran the fastest time last year, I would try to run my personal best."

Kiptum, who unexpectedly passed away in February this year due to a road accident, won the Chicago Marathon last year when he clocked the world record run-time of 2:00:35.

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John Korir also emerged victorious at the 2024 Boilmerker Road Race

Korir during a press conference at the 2024 Boston World Marathon major event (Image via: Getty Images)

Competing at the 2024 Boilmerker Road Race, John Korir clocked 42:11 to win the competition. This came just a few months after he missed out on a podium finish at the 2024 Boston Marathon by a whisker after finishing fourth.

Following this victory, Korir opened up about the advice that his coach had given him just a night before his run. During the conversation, Korir also shared some high praise for the audience at the competition.

"Yesterday, my coach called me and told me to stay with the guy until the last 300 meters and then you kick. Then, I started kicking and that helped. It is a nice race with the people cheering us. I look forward to coming back next year," John Korir said (via Rome Sentinel.

Jemal Yimer and Wesley Kiptoo finished second and third in the race with run-times of 42:19 and 43:13, respectively.