CHICAGO – Eliud Kipchoge's sub-two-hour marathon could push runners to set faster times in Sunday's Chicago marathon, race director Carey Pinkowski said on Saturday.
"It sets a mindset for the athletes; they start thinking about fast and going faster, so maybe we’ll see some of that influencing them tomorrow," Pinkowski told reporters.
Kenyan Kipchoge made athletics history in Vienna on Saturday when he became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours, clocking one hour 59.40 seconds.
Pinkowski said he would "have loved to have seen him here against Mo Farah and some of the athletes" in Chicago, adding that he hoped the 34-year-old Kipchoge, the 2016 Olympic champion, would one day return to the race where he claimed his first World Marathon Major in 2014.
"These one-off events, you know, it’s a moment in time and it would be great to see him," said Pinkowski. "I can’t criticise the effort – they have perfect conditions and perfect pace and everything came together.
"Hopefully we’ll get him back – hopefully we’ll get him back here."
Briton Farah is the defending champion in Chicago and Sunday's race will also include 2017 winner Galen Rupp of the United States.