Chicago Marathon 2011 Results: Lillya Shobukhova Cements Marathon Legend Status

Lillya Shobukhova ran her way not only to a 2011 Chicago Marathon victory, but also to legend status.

The victory was the third straight for the 33-year-old Russian. Despite not having any competitors withing serious striking distance, she pushed herself to a personal best time.

She completed the 26.2-mile marathon in a time of two hours, 18 minutes and 20 seconds. That made her the second fastest woman to finish a marathon, and just the third woman ever to record a time under 2:20:00. It was the fourth fastest time in women's marathon history.

She spoke to the media about what it took to set such a blazing time and told universalsports.com, "I think that to run sub-2:20 you have to use new tactics. You have to try something else. That's why I decided to go fast right away."

Her winning time was just 12 minutes behind the record time turned in by Moses Mosop, the winner of the men's event.

Shobukhova now sets her sights on winning gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She is obviously going to be among the favorites.

A gold medal will certainly be an added feather to the cap of an impressive resume. With Sunday's performance Shobukhova is on a short list of all-time greats.