Luis Antonio Dos Santos says he wasn't trying to break any records when he won the Chicago Marathon, he just wanted to run a good race. He edged a dehydrated Ed Eyestone of Layton for the victory.
"With five miles to go, I felt a little pain," the 30-year old from Petropolis, Brazil, said Sunday. "I thought, why press the pace? I just want to go to the finish.""I was just going to do my own race," he said.
On the crisp autumn morning perfect for running, Dos Santos broke away from the pack of more than 12,000 runners to win the 17th annual Chicago Marathon with a time of two hours, 11 minutes and 16 seconds.
Dos Santos became only the second runner to win the race two years in a row.
Steve Jones of Great Britain won the marathon in 1984 and 1985.
Dos Santos took the lead at the 15th mile and maintained it for the rest of the race. Eyestone, his closest challenger, finished 35 seconds behind at 2:11:51.
Cosmas Ndeti, the 26-year-old Kenyan favored to win the race, dropped out near the 19-mile mark. Ndeti, a two-time Boston Marathon winner, apparently had a blister on his foot.
Kristy Johnston, 28, of Eugene, Ore., was the top women's finisher with a time of 2:31:34. Gitte Karlshoj, 35 of Viby, Denmark, finished second at 2:31:57.
Eyestone, a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team said he was within 10 seconds of Dos Santos with about 5 miles left, but he could not close the gap.
"I felt very good," Eyestone said. "I just dehydrated a little over the last few miles and had some cramping in my left hamstring."
Patrick Muturi, a 21-year-old Kenyan who now lives in Pullman, Wash., was the third-place men's finisher with a time of 2:12:65. Muturi had won the San Francisco Marathon in July with a time of 2:17:33,
Ovidio Castilla, 28, of Mexico finished fourth at 2:13:09. Don Janicki of Louisville, Colo., was fifth at 2:13:21.
Johnston said she had trouble fending off her competitors in the women's race.
"I was never comfortable with my lead," she said. "The weather was perfect, but my body just got tired."
As a result, Karlshoj kept the pressure on.
"When I was in mile 23 or 24, I thought I might still have a chance," Karlshoj said. "When I got to mile 25, I realized there was no chance. I was really getting tired."
Elaine Van Blunk, 30, of Drexel Hill, Pa., was the women's third-place finisher at 2:32:25. Trina Painter, 28, of Austin, Texas, was fourth at 2:35:21. Lisa Weidenbach, 32, of Wichita, Kan., was fifth at 2:36:35.
Joan Benoit Samuelson, a 1984 Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist who holds the U.S. women's marathon record, finished sixth. Samuelson, 37, finished in 2:37:9. She needed to finish in at least 2:46 to qualify for the 1996 Olympic trials.
The temperature during the race was about 55 degrees with cloudy skies and light winds.
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Additional Information
Chicago Marathon Results
Men
1. Luis Antonio Dos Santos, Brazil, 2:11:16
2. Ed Eyestone, Layton, Utah, 2:11:51
3. Patrick Muturi, Pullman, Wash. 2:12:56
4. Ovidio Castilla, Mexico, 2:13:09
5. Dan Janicki, Louisville, Colo., 2:13:21
6. Hector De Jesue Martin, Mexico, 2:13:35
7. Jeff Jacobs, Roscoe, Ill., 2:13:44
8. Alejandra Cruz., Mexico City, 2:14:33
9. Carey Nelson, Vancouver, B.C., 2:15:21
10. Daniel Martinez, Placentia, Calif., 2:16:07
Women
1. Kristy Johnston, Eugene, Ore., 2:31:34
2. Gitte Karlshoj, Viby, Denmark, 2:31:57
3. Elaine Van Blunk, Drexel Hill, Pa., 2:32:25
4. Trina Painter, Austin, Tex., 2:35:21
5. Lisa Weidenbach, Wichita, Kan., 2:36:35
6. Joan Samuelson, Freeport, Minn., 2:37:09
7. Maria Trujillo, Salinas, Calif., 2:37:09
8. Ing Marie Nilsson, Sweden, 2:39:43
9. Lyobov Klochko, Zaporjia, Poland, 2:40:09
10. Amy Legacki, Ann Arbor, Mich., 2:40:18