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Three days before her 31st birthday, Emily Sisson gifted herself a new American record when she ran a 2:18:29 at the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 9. She obliterated the former record, which was set by Keira D'Amato in January when competing in Houston, by 43 seconds. The record was previously held by Deena Kastor, who ran a 2:19:36 in 2006.
Sisson celebrated with Kastor, D'Amato and Joan Benoit Samuelson, all of which set the record at point.
“It's amazing,” Sisson told NBC Chicago. “I mean the women standing here today, they've all accomplished so much, so just to be amongst them is an incredible honor.”
Sisson, who competed in the 10,000 meters in last year's Olympics, had hovered around the two-hour and twenty-minute mark in 2019 when she ran a 2:23:08 in London. This time around, she was able to surpass it and had an idea during the race she may be approaching a new record.
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“I just was given instructions to go off my pacers and not think about time at all, so I had no clue what pace I was running until, I think, like a mile to go,” she said. “A few people told me to pick it up, so I thought, ‘Oh, I must be close to either breaking 2:20 or the American record,’ but I didn’t know which one.”
Sisson's record-breaking performance in Chicago is something of a comeback story after she entered the 2020 Olympics as a favorite to win the event. However, she had to drop out following the 22nd mile in the race, leaving her distraught.
“The Olympic Marathon Trials — that broke my heart,” Sisson said later. “Usually, I’m good at moving on from bad races, but I really struggled with that one.”
While she broke the American marathon record, Emily Sisson came in second behind Kenya's Brigid Kosgei, who ran a 2:14:18.
