While his official personal best is 2:10:41, the 2004 Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist ran 2:06:51 in the Breaking2 marathon so will be looking to replicate that kind of form in Chicago.

Kenya's Stephen Sambu made his marathon debut in Chicago in 2016, finishing fifth in 2:13:35. With PBs of 26:54.61 for 10,000m and 1:00:41 for the half marathon, it would appear the 29-year-old is capable of significantly improving his marathon PB.

Japanese quartet Kohei Mastsumura, Yuki Takamiya, Chihiro Miyawaki and Ryoichi Matsuo add further strength to this year's field.

Matsumara is the fastest of the four, having set a PB of 2:08:09 at the 2017 Tokyo Marathon. Kiplagat returns to chase her third title in a row and her fourth podium finish.

The 2010 world half marathon champion has a marathon PB of 2:19:44 and held the half marathon world record until earlier this year.

Dibaba started 2017 by becoming the third-fastest woman of all time when she finished second in London in 2:17:56. Dibaba is a three-time Olympic gold medallist, a five-time world champion on the track and a four-time winner of senior titles at the World Cross.

She made her marathon debut in 2017 with a third-place finish in London in 2:20:35. More recently, she took the silver medal in the 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships London 2017.

Valentine Kipketer returns to Chicago after finishing third last year in 2:23:41. The Kenyan finished sixth at this year's Boston Marathon.

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