Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands won the men’s race at the New York City Marathon on Sunday and Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women’s event.
Both runners pulled away from their closest competitors in the last few hundred meters to take their first victories in the race.
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Nageeye was step for step with 2022 champion Evans Chebet before using a burst on the way to Central Park to take victory in two hours, seven minutes and 39 seconds. Chebet finished six seconds behind. Tamirat Tola, defending men’s champion and Olympic gold medalist in Paris, finished fourth, just behind Albert Korir.
Chepkirui raced in New York for the first time, pulling away from defending champion Hellen Obiri in the women’s race. Chepkirui started running marathons in 2022. She finished the race in 2:24:35. Obiri finished almost 15 seconds behind. Obiri wanted to become the first repeat champion since Kenya’s Mary Keitany won three in a row between 2014 and 2016. Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot finished third, putting the African country in the top three.
The top Americans finished sixth in both races. Conner Mantz led the men and Sara Vaughn the women. Vaughn was in the lead group heading into Mile 20 as they entered the Bronx before dropping off the leading pack. Vaughn was ready to lead Chicago before Covid-19 prevented her from competing in that race. She was a late addition to this marathon.
The day started with upsets in the men’s wheelchair race, as three-time defending champion Marcel Hug was defeated by Daniel Romanchuk, who won in 2018 and 2019. Susannah Scaroni won the women’s wheelchair race. It was her second victory in New York, also winning the 2022 race and producing American winners in both events – the first time that has happened.
The 42.2-mile course took runners through all five boroughs of New York, starting on Staten Island and ending in Central Park. This is the 48th year the race has taken place in all five boroughs. Previously, the route was entirely in Central Park when it began in 1970. The first race had just 55 finishers, while more than 50,000 were expected to participate this year.
The weather was perfect for running with cool and clear conditions.