Almgren Wins New York Marathon in His First Attempt

Sweden's Andreas Almgren won the men's New York City Marathon on Sunday in the first marathon he had ever run. Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui took the women's title for the second time.

The 50th run through five boroughs

The race went through all five boroughs of the city for the 50th time. About 60,000 runners stood on the start line, and nearly half of them were women.

Wheelchair races: one lopsided, one tight

Catherine Debrunner broke clear of the women's wheelchair field early and finished in 1:40:02. Only one time in race history is faster, and it is her own from 2023, by about 30 seconds.

Susannah Scaroni came in third, more than eight minutes behind. She arrived as a two-time defending champion, three months after giving birth to her first child.

The men's wheelchair race was far closer. Marcel Hug beat Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second, his eighth win in the event. Romanchuk surged ahead in the last mile, just as both men turned into Central Park for the last time. Hug passed him on the final stretch.

Chepkirui holds off Obiri and McClain

Chepkirui had also won in 2024. Her fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri, herself a two-time winner, was beaten when Chepkirui went clear with 150 metres left. The winning time was 2:24.36.

The last mile, she said, was tricky. She knew she had to be patient because Obiri looked strong.

American Jessica McClain passed Obiri in the final few strides to take second, six seconds behind the winner. No US woman had finished in the top three since 2018. She said she did not feel great through 18 miles and simply had to stick with it. "It was a really fun, magical day out there," McClain said.

A debut that looked like veteran work

Almgren came to 26.2 miles from half marathons and the 10,000m. On the hilly course he held his place in a crowded lead group. With one mile left he dropped defending champion Benson Kipruto, and he broke away from Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa in that final mile to win in 2:06:01.

Crippa was 13 seconds back. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho finished third, just ahead of Kipruto.

Almgren said he felt he had the legs with 5km to go. Once he saw the size of his gap, he decided to enjoy the last few hundred metres. He jogged over the line and waved his arms to draw louder cheers.

"I've probably never felt so emotional after a race ever," he said.

Our view

Almgren's background is in shorter races, so his next choice of distance is an open question that only he can answer. McClain's placing ends a gap in US women's top-three finishes; whether it is a one-off will show in later big-city races.

Source: the Guardian