Chepkirui Wins Second New York City Marathon Title as Almgren Triumphs in Debut

Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya captured her second New York City Marathon title on Sunday, adding to the victory she earned in 2024. She finished the women's race in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds.

Chepkirui broke clear of fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri over the last 150 meters. Obiri, a two-time winner of the race, was then overtaken in the closing strides by American Jessica McClain, who took second place just 6 seconds behind the winner. McClain's result marked the first time a U.S. woman had placed in the top three since Shalane Flanagan in 2018.

In the men's race, Sweden's Andreas Almgren won in 2:06:01 in his first attempt at the marathon distance. Almgren is the reigning world half-marathon champion. He separated himself from Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa during the last mile and won by 13 seconds.

Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho took third, narrowly ahead of defending champion Benson Kipruto. Almgren's time was the third fastest on the course in its 50-year history, and the top seven men all landed among the 10 quickest performances ever recorded there. He is the first runner to win the event on his marathon debut since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia in 2010.

American Zouhair Talbi placed sixth and set the fastest time ever run by a U.S. athlete in the New York race.

The wheelchair divisions also produced close and fast finishes. Marcel Hug claimed his eighth men's wheelchair title in New York, finishing in 1:28:14 and beating Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second. Romanchuk had moved into the lead during the final mile as the pair entered Central Park for the last time, but Hug overtook him in the final 100 meters.

Catherine Debrunner opened a gap early in the women's wheelchair race and won in 1:40:02, the second-fastest time in race history. Only her own 2023 mark was quicker, by about 30 seconds. Susannah Scaroni, a two-time defending champion, finished third more than eight minutes back, three months after giving birth to her first child.

The event marked the 50th time the marathon has been run through all five boroughs. About 60,000 runners lined up at the start on Sunday, nearly half of them women, and they represented more than 140 countries.

Organizers also made a small adjustment to the course for the first time in 15 years. Near Mile 20, as the race entered the Bronx, runners followed a slightly different route that cut the number of turns in the borough from seven to five and eased some street closures in the area.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.