Almgren wins New York City Marathon debut

NEW YORK, Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the men's New York City Marathon on Sunday in his first appearance at the 26.2-mile distance. The runner crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second, pulling away from Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in the final mile.

Crippa finished 13 seconds behind the winner. Kamoholo Mofolo of Lesotho took third place, edging out defending champion Benson Kipruto. Almgren's winning time ranks as the third fastest in the 50-year history of the course. All of the top seven finishers posted times that place them among the top 10 all-time for the event.

Almgren, who is competing in the marathon for the first time after a career focused on half-marathons, became the first runner to win his debut here since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won in 2010. Zouhair Talbi, an American, finished sixth in the men's race. Talbi recorded the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in this competition.

In the women's race, Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya secured her second victory after winning the event in 2024. She defeated Hellen Obiri of Kenya by 6 seconds in a finish that came down to the final 150 meters. Chepkirui finished in 2:24:36. Jessica McClain of the United States finished second, passing Obiri in the final strides of the race.

McClain's podium finish marks the first time a U.S. woman has placed in the top three since 2018. The event marked the 50th running of the marathon through all five boroughs of New York City. Approximately 60,000 runners started the race on Sunday, with nearly half of them being women. Competitors represented more than 140 countries.

The course featured a minor change for the first time in 15 years. Runners took a different route at Mile 20 upon entering the Bronx. Organizers adjusted the path to reduce turns in that borough from seven to five and to ease street closures. The race moved out of Central Park in 1976 to help uplift the city, following six years of loops within the park.

Marcel Hug won the men's wheelchair race for the eighth time. He beat Daniel Romanchuk by just over one second. Romanchuk took the lead in the last mile before Hug passed him in the final 100 meters. Catherine Debrunner of Sweden won the women's wheelchair race in 1:40:02. Susannah Scaroni finished third, more than eight minutes behind the winner.