The Bank of America Chicago Marathon has announced that two-time defending champion Ruth Chepngetich and American record holder Emily Sisson will return to compete in the 2023 edition of the race. They will be joined by 2023 London Marathon champion Sifan Hassan, who will be racing in her first American marathon.

What you need to know:

Chepngetich goes for the threepeat:

– 28-year-old Ruth Chepngetich is looking to build upon her last two Chicago Marathon titles with a third victory in this year’s edition of the race. Her 2022 time of 2:14:18 was the second fastest time ever run behind fellow Kenyan Brigid Kosgei’s world record, set at the same course in 2019.

– Chepngetich is the 2019 world marathon champion and the former world record holder in the half marathon, with a personal best of 64:02.

Hassan’s sophomore effort:

– Sifan Hassan, the versatile Dutch runner with strong credentials at every event from 800m on up, stunned the world by making a rocky but ultimately successful marathon debut in London earlier this year. Despite facing one of the strongest fields ever assembled and stopping repeatedly to stretch a tight muscle, Hassan managed to win the World Marathon Major in her first attempt, setting a new national record of 2:18:33 in the process.

– Hassan is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion on the track. She plans to contest multiple events at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in August but has not yet chosen which events she plans to enter - but it will be some combination of the 1500m, the 5000m, and 10,000m.

Sisson wants to go even faster:

– Emily Sisson is the defending runner-up in Chicago. She finished in 2:18:29 last year, and although she placed second after Chepngetich, Sisson still smashed Keira D’Amato’s American record, set only 9 months earlier, by 43 seconds. She is hoping to run even faster this year–and with how deep the competition is expected to be, an improvement upon her own record could certainly be in the cards!

– Sisson is also the American record holder in the marathon and the half marathon. Earlier this month, she ran 31:16 at the NYC Mini-10k, one second under the women’s only American record (although the course is not record-eligible). She is entered in this weekend’s BAA 10k in Boston.