Olympic marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya claimed an easy victory with a new record at the Chicago Marathon Sunday morning.

Almost costing his big bonus by waving to a cheering crowd right before the finishing line, Wanjiru beat the existing record set by Khalid Khannouchi in Chicago in 1999 by just one second. He finished in 2 hours 5 minutes and 41 seconds, also a personal best for him in the United States.

Wanjiru won 75,000 U.S. dollars for winning and 100,000 U.S. dollars for setting a new record for Chicago Marathon.

Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco finished second in 2:06:04, and Kenya's Vincent Kipruto, third in 2:06:08.

Russia's Liliya Shobukhova won the women's title in 2:25:55 before German Irina Mikitenko who is this year's London Marathon winner, finished in 2:26:31, with Russian Lidya Grigoryeva third in 2:26:47.

About 45,000 runners participated in today's Marathon.

The Chicago Marathon is a major event held annually in the United States. It is ranked within one of the top five major marathons in the world. This year is the 32nd anniversary of this mega event.