The 1991 Chicago Marathon was the 14th running of the annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

race in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, United States and was held on October 27. The elite men's race was won by Brazil's

Joseildo da Silva Joseildo Rocha da Silva (born 20 February 1965) is a Brazilian long-distance track event, long-distance runner. He won the 1991 Chicago Marathon, the marathon event at the 1991 South American Championships in Athletics, and the 1993 Los Angeles ...

in a time of 2:14:33 hours and the women's race was won by Sweden's

Midde Hamrin Midde Hamrin (born ''Ingrid Marie-Louise Hamrin'', April 19, 1957 in Gothenburg, Västra Götaland) is a Swedish athlete, competing in the long-distance running events. She played basketball with the Högsbo Division I Basketball Club in Gothe ...

in 2:36:21.

Background

The 1991 Chicago Marathon was run without a

title sponsor Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

. The

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

race had been sponsored by

G. Heileman Brewing Company The G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, was a brewer that operated from 1858 to 1996. It was ultimately acquired by Stroh's. From 1872 until its acquisition, the brewery bore the family name of its co-founder ...

, but the race organizers decided they wanted the race to be known as the Chicago Marathon. As a result, the prize money was reduced from $30,000 in 1990 to $7,500 in 1991, plus two free airline tickets. The lack of prize money affected the quality of athletes that participated in the event, with the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

saying that the 1991 race had the weakest field since

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. In the men's race, Richard Kaitany who came third at the 1990 Chicago Marathon and won the 1991

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wit ...

was considered one of the favorites. Other favorites for the men's race included Irish athlete

Roy Dooney Roy Dooney (born 23 January 1958) is an Irish former runner, who came second at the 1991 Chicago Marathon. He won the 1992 Grandma's Marathon, and was a member of the Irish team that won the 1988 New York City road relay race. Career Dooney c ...

, Polish national champion Mirosław Bugaj, and Mexican 5,000 and 10,000 meters national champion Marcos Baretto. The course for the 1991 race was similar to the 1990 race, with a few minor alterations to the roads used. The race began at the

Daley Plaza The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its open courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime mayor Richard J. Daley, is the premier civic center of the city of Chicago, Illinois. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses offic ...

, and the second half of the race was run on the southbound carriageway of

Lake Shore Drive Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive; also known as DuSable Lake Shore Drive, the Outer Drive, the Drive, LSD or DLSD) is a semi-limited access Limited-access highway, expressway that runs alongside the sh ...

. The finish line was in Grant Park. The flatness of the course meant that world record attempts were thought possible.

Race summary

The races temperature was measured as , and the course was windy, particularly between , where the racers followed Lake Shore Drive. The men's race was won by Brazilian Joseildo da Silva. Polish athlete Leszek Stokłosa was the race's

pacemaker A pacemaker, also known as an artificial cardiac pacemaker, is an implanted medical device that generates electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the chambers of the heart. Each pulse causes the targeted chamber(s) to co ...

, and da Silva took the lead around into the race with fellow Brazilian José Santana. Santana later dropped back, and a chasing group formed, containing Santana, Roy Dooney, and Dave Mora.After , Dooney broke away from the chasing group, and he caught up to da Silva after of the race. Da Silva quickly dropped Dooney again. Da Silva won the race by six seconds from Dooney, and da Silva's winning time of 2:14:33 was the slowest winning time since 1981. After the race, da Silva said that the wind and a lack of competition in the race affected his ability to run quickly. The women's race was won by Swede

in a time of 2:36:21. Harmin broke away from the pack after and stayed ahead throughout.

Kirsi Rauta Kirsi Irene Rauta (born 17 March 1962 in Kouvola) is a retired female marathon runner from Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north ...

, who finished second, was over two minutes behind Hamrin. Hamrin's winning time was also the slowest since 1981. The mass participation race had around 7,500 starters and 5,908 finishers. The oldest competitor in the race was 75.

Results

Men

Source:

Women

Source:

References

External links

Official website
{{1991 in athletics Chicago Marathon

1991 in Chicago

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...