Outdoor Sports

Ruth Chepngetich didn't just win the 2024 Chicago Marathon.

She set the women's world record with an incredible time of 2:09:57.

It was quite the Sunday for Kenya runners, as John Korir joined Chepngetich in the winner's circle with a time of 2:02:43 on the men's side.

Here are the top finishers:

Women's Top Finishers

1. Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) — 2:09:56 (World Record)
2. Sutume Kebede (ETH) -- 2:17:32
   
3. Irine Cheptai (KEN) -- 2:17:52
   
4. Buze Diriba (ETH) -- 2:20:22
   
5. Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) -- 2:20:51
   

Men's Top Finishers

1. John Korir (KEN) — 2:02:43
2. Huseydin Mohamed Esa (ETH) -- 2:04:39
   
3. Amos Kipruto (KEN) -- 2:04:50
   
4. Vincent Ngetich (KEN) -- 2:05:15
   
5. Daniel Ebenyo (KEN) -- 2:06:04
   

Chepngetich, Korir and a field of tens of thousands of competitors participated in the annual race Sunday that started in Grant Park, weaved through a number of the city's historic neighborhoods and finished in Grant Park where the runners could celebrate with their friends and family.

Runners went through the Loop and Wrigleyville, ran past the United Center, and finished not far from the Buckingham Fountain.

As Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports noted, the Chicago Marathon is one of the six annual World Marathon Majors. That meant many of the world's top runners competed in 2024.

On the women's side, Chepngetich was the headliner as she returned to the Chicago Marathon she won in 2021 and 2022. She certainly delivered under the spotlight and reclaimed her crown in record-setting fashion.

Elsewhere, Ethiopia's Sutume Kebede (this year's Tokyo Marathon winner) and Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei (2019 New York City Marathon winner and 2021 London Marathon winner) also competed.

Notable Americans included Emma Bates, Keira D'Amato, Betsy Saina and Sara Hall.

As for the men's side, Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese, Kenya's Amos Kipruto (2022 London Marathon winner) and American CJ Albertson were among the headliners.

Cate Schiller of Sporting News noted the City of Chicago also honored Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum this year. Kiptum won last year's race with a world and course record of 2:00:35 but died months after his victory in a car accident.

There was a moment of silence before the race for Kiptum, and Chepngetich said after her victory that she dedicated her performance to Kiptum.

Brazil's duo of Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa finished on top of the podium by defeating Canada in the gold medal match during the 2024 Summer Olympics on Friday.

It took three sets for the result to be decided before the Brazilian team triumphed over Canada's Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes. They won the first set 26-14 and dropped the second set 21-12 before eventually taking the final set by the score of 15-10.

Earlier in the day, Switzerland's Nina Brunner and Tanja Huerberli defeated Australia to win bronze.

Medal Winners

Gold: Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa, Brazil

Silver: Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes, Canada

Bronze: Nina Brunner and Tanja Huerberli, Switzerland

Brazil's duo captured the country's first gold in the event since 1996. The pair already represented one of the top beach volleyball tandems in the world prior to the Paris Games, although an Olympic medal eluded them.

They previously qualified for a spot in the Tokyo Olympics, although they weren't able to finish on the podium. Now, they're bringing gold medals back home.

Tensions were high during the third set between Canada and Brazil, as Wilkerson and Ana Patricia both received yellow cards following an argument.

Although the Canadian team was unable to win the final match of the competition, Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes still made history on Friday.

Their silver medal represented the first-ever podium finish for Canada at the women's competition. It also marked the second beach volleyball medal finish for the country as a whole, as the men's team of John Child and Mark Heese won bronze in 1996.

It initially appeared as if Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes wouldn't have a shot at a medal after finishing with a 1-2 record in pool play. However, they didn't drop another match until Friday and defeated Switzerland in the semifinals.

Men's beach volleyball will wrap up on Saturday, as France will face off against Poland in the gold medal match at 7 a.m. ET.

Distance runners took over the Bay Area on Sunday for the 2024 San Francisco Marathon.

More than 31,000 runners descended on the streets at 5:15 a.m. in hopes of completing the marathon, and some displayed some extra speed. 29-year-old Charlie Lawrence of Boulder, CO won the men's division with a time of 2:22.30, while the fastest women's finisher was 24-year-old Jenna Wolfrum with a time of 2:52.10.

Other notable finishers include San Francisco natives Michael Vernau and Jack Rager, who finished second and third in the men's division with times of 2:28.19 and 2:31.58 respectively.

Itzu Villarce of Mexico finished second in the women's division with a time of 2:55.12, while Sara Bagnell was the top San Francisco native with a sixth place finish and a time of 3:05.41.

Lawrence had an average pace of 5:26. His overall time did not beat his personal best of 2:16. However, it did beat the time of last year's winner, Brice Daubord, who finished that race with a time of 2:26.17.

The runner's will hope to use the qualifying times from this race in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon as well as other notable races.

At least three spectators were injured when a bull jumped over a fence during a rodeo in Oregon on Saturday.

According to the Associated Press, the bull was running around the ring as part of an event in the 84th Sisters Rodeo. After a while, it hopped the fence and ran through a concession area.

The AP reported that a video posted online showed the bull using its horns to flip one fan in the air.

Barney Lerten and Kelsey McGee of NewsChannel 21 in Bend, Oregon, reported that three people suffered injuries from the incident, two of whom were hospitalized. The Sisters Rodeo Association followed up Sunday to confirm the three fans were all back at home.

"Rodeo is an inherently dangerous sport, and especially bull riding," Sisters Rodeo vice president Brian Witt said to NewsChannel 21. "But it (an escaped bull) is a very rare occasion. We've never had it here at our Sisters Rodeo. It does happen. But what we do is, we plan for it.

"Fortunately, we just had a great response from our rodeo pickup men, as well as a lot of the security staff and medical folks, to really prevent a lot of other injuries."

The Sisters Rodeo resumed as scheduled Sunday.

The most colorful race in San Francisco took place for the 111th time with Sunday morning's Bay to Breakers.

Colin Bennie paced the men by running the 12-kilometer course from the Embarcadero to the Ocean Beach in 37:01.5.

Clarissa Morales led the women with a run time of 45:05.48, while Cal Calamia paced non-binary runners with a 44:26.27 finish time.

Below are the top three finishers for each category:

Men

1. Colin Bennie: 37:01.5
2. Christopher Olley: 38:06.98
3. Paddy O'Leary: 38:11.53

Women

1. Julia Vasquez Giguere: 43:48.94
2. Estelle Richardson: 43:53.93
3. Clarissa Morales: 45:05.48

Non-Binary

1. Cal Calamia: 44:46.27
2. JL Odom: 54:30.10
3. Rory Glenn: 54:55.23

Find the full race results here.

Runners donned a variety of outfits for a race best known for its costumed participants.

Spectators continued a tradition of tossing tortillas to runners before the start of the race:

Some runners dressed up with a local flair, running as the famous row of colorful Victorian houses known as the Painted Ladies located across from San Francisco's Alamo Square.

Others celebrated the March release of "Dune: Part Two" by dressing up as a sandworm:

Bay to Breakers was first run in 1912 as a way to boost the morale of San Francisco residents impacted by the 1906 earthquake, according to the San Francisco Travel Association.

It has only paused since then during the COVID-19 pandemic and remains the world's oldest annual footrace, per the San Francisco Chronicle.

The first edition of the Bay to Breakers running event was held in San Francisco in 1912. Since then, the race has been an annual occurrence that has become synonymous with the third Sunday in May in the city.

With that day approaching this weekend, the buildup to the 2024 iteration of Bay to Breakers is underway. On Sunday morning, the streets of San Francisco will be filled with runners, many of whom will celebrate the occasion by wearing costumes during their trek.

The race is 12 kilometers long and will again feature both casual runners and strong competitors. But everybody will be there for the fun that is always had.

Here's everything else you need to know about the 2024 Bay to Breakers race.

2024 Bay to Breakers Information

When: Sunday, May 19

Start Time: 8 a.m. PT

Course Map: Available on BaytoBreakers.com

Road Closures: A list of road closures can be found on SFGATE.com

Bay to Breakers was canceled for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the event has returned to being a staple of the spring in San Francisco, as this will be the third race since that two-year hiatus.

Some runners will be focused on the fun. Others could have records in sight.

The men's record for the race belongs to Kenya's Sammy Kitwara, who finished in 33 minutes and 31 seconds in 2009. He was a three-time winner of the event, also crossing the finish line first in 2010 and 2012 as well.

Kenya's Lineth Chepkurui set the women's mark in 2010, posting a time of 38:07. She was also a three-time winner of the race, emerging victorious in 2008 and 2011.

Of course, more notable than anything else about this event is the costumes. Many runners will not be wearing traditional racing outfits.

Over the years, people have run the race in many different appearances. That will surely be the case again in 2024.

According to race director Kyle Meyers, there will be about 20,000 participants in this year's event, as shared during an interview with Jessica Wills of KRON4.

"I like to think of it as San Francisco's running holiday," Meyers told Wills. "For me, I think Bay to Breakers is everything that makes San Francisco so special."

This year's race seems poised to carry on that tradition, especially with so many people expected to take part in the event, which has more than a century of history.

Tom Stoltman leads the 2024 World's Strongest Man competition after Day 1, but Mitchell Hooper and Evan Singleton are hot on his heels going into the second and final day.

Day 1 Results

1. Tom Stoltman (Scotland): 26.5 points

2. Mitchel Hooper (Canada): 23.5 points

3. Evan Singleton (United States): 23 points

4. Austin Andrade (Mexico): 18.5 points

5. Wesley Derwinsky (Canada): 16 points

6. Mathew Ragg (Canada): 12.5 points

7. Luke Stoltman (Scotland): 12.5 points

8. Tristain Hoath (Canada): 12 points

9. Pavlo Kordiyaka (Ukraine): 9 points

10. Aivars Smaukstelis (Latvia): 7.5 points

Source: World's Strongest Man

Stoltman, a two-time World's Strongest Man winner (2021, 2022), leads a group of 10 vying to be the best. On Saturday, the competitors took part in three events: Knaack Giant's Medley, Max Axle and Keg Toss in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The first-place winner got 10 points for winning an event, followed by nine points for second place, eight points for third, and so on until one point for last.

The only caveat was in events where one needed to do reps to complete a task. For example, any competitors unable to get a rep in the Max Axle or Keg Toss got zero points.

Stoltman, who has also carded second-place finishes in 2020 and 2023, tied Hooper (the 2023 champion) for first in the Max Axle with four reps. Stoltman, Hooper and Wesley Derwinsky also tied for first in the Keg Toss with five reps.

Singleton won the Knaack Giant's Medley with a time of 30.21 seconds. Austin Andrade finished second (40.61 seconds) and Stoltman took third (41.26 seconds).

Sunday, the competitors will take part in the Reign Total Body Fuel Conan's Wheel, the BFGoodrich Tires HD Terrain Deadlift and the Atlas Stones to determine the victor.