Almgren Takes NYC Marathon Debut; Chepkirui Repeats
The Swedish runner won his first marathon in 2:06:01, while the Kenyan star claimed her second victory in New York on Sunday.
By Leila Reynolds ·
Runners in New York City faced a slightly different route on Sunday as the 50th edition of the marathon that traverses all five boroughs concluded. The course alteration at Mile 20 in the Bronx reduced the number of turns from seven to five. Organizers made the change to ease street closures in that area. It was the first course modification in 15 years.
Andreas Almgren of Sweden finished the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second. It was his first attempt at the full marathon distance. He had previously competed in half-marathons. Almgren pulled away from Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in the final mile to secure the win. Crippa crossed the line 13 seconds later. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho took third place, finishing ahead of defending champion Benson Kipruto.
Almgren earned a $100,000 prize for the victory. His time ranks as the third fastest in the event's 50-year history. Six runners in total posted times under 2 hours and 7 minutes. That places them in the top 10 all-time finishers for the course. Almgren is the first runner to win the New York Marathon on his debut since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won the 2010 race.
"This is my first marathon. I didn't know how I was supposed to feel," Almgren said. He explained that he chose the race because the focus is on position rather than a specific time. "I didn't think it was going to be that quick of a finish, but I didn't really know anything about that," he added.
American Zouhair Talbi finished in sixth place. He ran the fastest time ever recorded by a U.S. runner in the New York City Marathon. Kipruto, the defending champion, had won the previous year's race by three-hundredths of a second against Alexander Mutiso.
Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women's race for the second time. She finished in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds. Chepkirui passed Hellen Obiri, also of Kenya, in the final 150 meters. Jessica McClain of the United States finished second, passing Obiri in the final strides. McClain was six seconds behind the winner. It marked the first time a U.S. woman finished in the top three of this event since 2018.
The race attracted about 60,000 participants on Sunday. Nearly half of them were women. Runners from more than 140 countries competed in the field. The New York City Marathon began in 1970. For the first six years, it was run entirely in loops within Central Park. The course expanded in 1976 to help uplift the struggling city. That year, just over 2,000 competitors started, including 88 women.
Marcel Hug won the men's wheelchair race for the eighth time. He beat Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second. Hug passed Romanchuk in the final 100 meters after losing the lead in the last mile. Catherine Debrunner of Sweden won the women's wheelchair race. Her time of 1 hour, 40 minutes and 2 seconds is the second-fastest in history, trailing her own 2023 record by about 30 seconds. Susannah Scaroni finished third, more than eight minutes behind Debrunner, three months after giving birth to her first child.
