Almgren wins NYC Marathon debut as Chepkirui secures second title

Andreas Almgren won the men's New York City Marathon on Sunday, marking his first appearance in the event. The 26-year-old Swede had previously focused on half-marathons before making the switch to the full distance. He pulled ahead of Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in the final mile to finish in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second. Crippa crossed the line 13 seconds later.

Almgren's performance placed him third on the all-time leaderboard for the course's 50-year history. The top seven finishers all recorded times that ranked among the top 10 ever on this route. He is the first runner to win the race in his debut since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia did so in 2010. American Zouhair Talbi finished sixth, setting the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in the event's history.

In the women's race, Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya claimed her second victory. She passed her compatriot Hellen Obiri in the final 150 meters to win in 2:24:36. American Jessica McClain finished second, overtaking Obiri in the final few strides. McClain was six seconds behind Chepkirui and became the first U.S. woman to finish in the top three since 2018.

The event marked the 50th time the marathon ran through all five boroughs of New York City. Approximately 60,000 participants started the race, with nearly half of them being women. Runners from more than 140 countries competed. This is a sharp increase from 1976, the seventh running of the race, which featured just over 2,000 competitors, including only 88 women.

The course saw a minor adjustment for the first time in 15 years. At Mile 20, the route into the Bronx shifted to reduce the number of turns from seven to five. Organizers made the change to ease street closures in the area. Defending men's champion Benson Kipruto finished fourth, behind Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho. Kipruto had won last year by a margin of three-hundredths of a second.

Marcel Hug won the men's wheelchair race for the eighth time. He defeated Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second after passing him in the final 100 meters inside Central Park. Catherine Debrunner won the women's wheelchair race in 1:40:02, which is the second-fastest time in the event's history. Two-time defending champion Susannah Scaroni placed third, finishing more than eight minutes behind Debrunner. Scaroni competed three months after giving birth to her first child.