Almgren makes NYC Marathon history with debut win

Andreas Almgren won the men’s New York City Marathon on Sunday, claiming his first victory in the event after finishing 13 seconds ahead of Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy. Almgren, who had previously focused on half-marathons, clocked 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second. This performance placed him third on the all-time list for the course, which has been run for 50 years.

Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho took third place, finishing just ahead of defending champion Benson Kipruto. The depth of the field was evident as the top seven finishers all recorded times that rank within the top 10 for the race’s history. Almgren became the first runner to win the marathon in his debut appearance since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won in 2010.

American Zouhair Talbi finished sixth in the men’s race. He set the fastest time ever recorded by a U.S. runner in this specific event. In the women’s race, Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya secured her second victory in the competition. She defeated Hellen Obiri by a narrow margin in the final 150 meters.

Chepkirui finished with a time of 2:24:36. American Jessica McClain crossed the line second, passing Obiri in the final strides. McClain finished six seconds behind Chepkirui, marking the first time a U.S. woman placed in the top three since 2018.

The race marked the 50th edition to run through all five boroughs of New York City. Approximately 60,000 runners started on Sunday, with nearly half of them being women. Competitors from more than 140 countries participated in the event. This contrasts with the seventh running in 1976, which featured just over 2,000 participants, including only 88 women.

Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race for the eighth time. He passed Daniel Romanchuk in the final 100 meters after Romanchuk had taken the lead in the last mile. Catherine Debrunner won the women’s wheelchair race with a time of 1:40:02. Susannah Scaroni finished third, more than eight minutes behind Debrunner, three months after giving birth to her first child.

The course saw a minor adjustment for the first time in 15 years. Runners took a slightly different route at Mile 20 in the Bronx to reduce the number of turns from seven to five. This change aimed to ease street closures in the area. The race has been held since 1970, with the first six years run entirely in loops within Central Park.