Cheruiyot and Grigoryeva triumph in Chicago

Kenyan Evans Cheruiyot won the Chicago Marathon on Sunday for his second successive victory since moving up to the distance last year, while Russia's Lidiya Grigoryeva claimed the women's title also on her Chicago debut.

Cheruiyot, 26, finished in a personal best time of two hours, six minutes and 25 seconds after breaking away from fellow countryman David Mandago about a mile before the finish line.

Grigoryeva, 34, finished in 2:27:17, over two minutes ahead of fellow Russian Alevtina Biktimirova in second place.

Running in only his second marathon, Cheruiyot shaved nearly three minutes off the time he set when winning on his debut in Milan last December.

"This is my first time in Chicago, but I really enjoyed it. I'm very happy," a smiling Cheruiyot told reporters minutes after the race.

Mandago, who at one point late in the race led Cheruiyot by several metres, finished second in a time of 2:07:37. Kenya's Timothy Cherigat took third place in 2:11:39.

Kenyan men have taken top honours in the Chicago race for six successive years.

Grigoryeva, the 2007 Boston Marathon champion and twice an Olympian, finished a comfortable distance ahead of Biktimirova who came home in 2:29:32.

"It's a dream come true," said Grigoryeva, who pulled ahead of Biktimirova near the 20-mile mark.

Kiyoko Shimahara, of Japan, finished third in 2:30:19, and Romania's Constantina Tomescu, the Beijing Olympics gold medallist, took fourth place in 2:30:57.

Temperatures reached 70˚F under hazy skies. Weather had been a major worry after one runner collapsed and died in record heat in last year's race, forcing organisers to close the course four hours after the contest began.

Organisers said nearly 45,000 runners competed on the flat, urban Chicago course, which weaves through the city's many ethnic neighbourhoods and the downtown business district.