It was an epic day on the streets of Chicago for racers Tatyana McFadden and Daniel Romanchuk, as their titles in the women's and men's wheelchair races at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon headlined a banner day for racers from the Illinois city of Champaign.
McFadden, who had captured seven consecutive Chicago Marathon titles before finishing seventh and second in the last two events, blitzed the field in an incredible performance on Sunday, winning the race in 1:48:57, capturing the title by more than a full minute.
McFadden lives in Champaign, Illinois and graduated from the University of Illinois, and she represented an incredible contingent of racers from that city that dominated the race on Sunday.
Yen Hoang, who also graduated from the university, finished second in the race, finishing one minute and 17 seconds behind McFadden in her third appearance in Chicago.
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Amanda McGrory, a Champaign resident who has won the Chicago Marathon on three occasions, finished in fifth place, giving her an 11th top-five finish in the iconic race.
On the men’s side of things, the Champaign contingent was utterly dominant as well, grabbing two of the top three places on the podium. Romanchuk captured his third consecutive Chicago Marathon title on Sunday, and he did so in style by outdueling long-time rival Marcel Hug.
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His 1:29:07 time was a career best in the Chicago race.
Aaron Pike, an Illinois graduate who had 10 top-10 finishes in the race prior to this year, put up his best time yet, finishing the race in 1:29:28 and finishing in third place.
Brian Siemann hadn’t finished in the top-10 in Chicago since 2012, but he accomplished that feat on Sunday, putting up a time of 1:38:27 and finishing in sixth place.
James Senbeta, who lives in the Champaign suburb of Savoy, finished in ninth place in the race, marking his best finish in Chicago since 2016.
