Bend resident Renee Metivier Baillie took eighth place among women in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday and turned in one of the quickest performances ever by an American woman debuting at the distance.
Metivier Baillie, 30, covered the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 27 minutes, 17 seconds, also finishing as the top American woman in the race, won by Atsede Baysa of Ethiopia in 2:22:03. Baysa narrowly defeated runner-up Rita Jeptoo, finishing just 1 second in front of the Kenyan.
Tsegaye Kebede provided Ethiopia with a sweep of the titles, winning the men’s race in 2:04:38, 14 seconds in front of fellow countryman Feyisa Lilesa. Portland resident Dathan Ritzenhein ran 2:07:47 and was the top American finisher in ninth place.
Metivier Baillie’s time ranks as the fifth-fastest by an American woman in her marathon debut, behind Kara Goucher (2:25:53), Deena Kastor (2:26:58), Amy Hastings (2:27:03) and Marla Runyan (2:27:10). More than 37,000 participants completed this year’s Chicago Marathon, and Metivier Baillie finished 59th overall.
—Bulletin staff report
