Jamaicans do well at Chicago Marathon

Jamaican female marathon runners, Heather Sykes Facey and Kisha Kaye O'Connor Anderson, had creditable placings in a field of 15,500 females and 45,000 runners overall at last Sunday's Chicago Marathon.

Sykes Facey, despite competing with an injury, completed the 26.2 miles course in three hours 30 minutes and 10 seconds, while O'Connor Anderson finished in three hours 30 minutes and 16 seconds. The runners competed in temperatures which soared to the mid 80s, and this negatively impacted on their times. In a previous Chicago marathon, five years ago, both clocked under 3:30.

top percentiles

Despite that, Sunday's times put Sykes in the top two per cent of the 45-49 female division and O'Connor Anderson in the top three per cent of the 35-39 females. Both placed in the top nine per cent overall among the more than 35,000 finishers. Their impressive times have qualified both for the prestigious Boston marathon. Sykes Facey was 491st among the 15,500 females, while O'Connor Anderson placed 494th.

Both returned to the island earlier this week and now have their sights set on the Reggae Marathon later this year, the Miami Half Marathon next year and the London Marathon in 2013.

The overall winner of the Chicago Marathon was Kenya's Moses Mosop who crossed the finish line in two hours five minutes and 37 seconds. Russia's Liliya Shobukhova was the first woman past the line in two hours 18 minutes and 20 seconds.