Almgren wins NYC Marathon debut; Chepkirui takes women's race

Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the men's New York City Marathon on Sunday in his first attempt at the 26.2-mile distance. He finished in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second, beating Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy by 13 seconds. Almgren, who has previously focused on half-marathons, pulled away from Crippa in the final mile to claim the victory.

In the women's race, Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya secured her second title in the event. She defeated Hellen Obiri of Kenya in the final 150 meters to finish in 2:24:36. Jessica McClain of the United States finished second, passing Obiri in the final strides to place just six seconds behind the winner.

Almgren's winning time ranks as the third fastest in the race's 50-year history. The top seven finishers all recorded times that place them in the top 10 all-time. Zouhair Talbi of the United States finished sixth and set a new record for the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in the marathon.

Chepkirui is a two-time winner of the race, having also won in 2024. McClain's second-place finish marks the first time a U.S. woman placed in the top three since 2018. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho finished third in the men's race, edging out defending champion Benson Kipruto of Kenya.

The event marked the 50th time the race traversed all five boroughs of New York City. Approximately 60,000 runners started the race on Sunday, with nearly half of them being women. Competitors from more than 140 countries participated in the event.

A minor course change was implemented for the first time in 15 years. Runners took a different route at Mile 20 upon entering the Bronx to reduce the number of turns in that borough from seven to five. The adjustment was designed to ease street closures in the area.

In the wheelchair races, Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men's category for the eighth time, defeating Daniel Romanchuk by just over one second. Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland won the women's wheelchair race in 1:40:02, a time that stands as the second fastest in history. Susannah Scaroni finished third in the women's wheelchair race, more than eight minutes behind Debrunner, three months after giving birth to her first child.