NEW YORK (AP) — Abdi Nageeye and Sheila Chepkirui used strong kicks in the final mile to pull away from their closest competitors and both won the New York City Marathon for the first time on Sunday.
Nageeye, who became the first runner from the Netherlands to win the men’s race, was step for step with 2022 champion Evans Chebet before using a burst of speed for the final time to power into Central Park and walk away with the win inside 2 hours come. , 7 minutes, 39 seconds. Chebet finished 6 seconds behind.
“At the finish I thought: am I dreaming? I won New York,” Nageeye said.
He had run the New York race three times before and his best finish came in 2022, when he finished third.
“I know the course,” Nageeye said. “Today there were two things: survive that race and my race is after 36 (kilometers; 22 miles). I thought like a cyclist: survive 36 kilometers and you will win.”
Chepkirui rode in New York for the first time and pulled away from defending champion Hellen Obiri in the women’s race in the final stretch.
“Let me go to the limit in the last kilometer, let me do my best,” said the Kenyan. “When we had about 600 meters to go, I told myself to push harder. When I saw that Hellen wasn’t coming, I knew I was going to win and I was so happy.”
Chepkirui, who started running marathons in 2022, won in 2:24.35. Obiri finished almost 15 seconds behind.
Obiri wanted to become the first consecutive champion since Mary Keitany of Kenya won three in a row from 2014 to 2016. Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot finished third, putting the African country into the top three.
Tamirat Tola, defending men’s champion and Olympic gold medalist in Paris, finished fourth, just behind Albert Korir.
“I had a good year,” Tola told The Associated Press through a translator. “I won the Olympics and then to come back to New York, you know it’s a tough road. I know I put a lot of effort into it. Around mile 33 I felt my muscles contracting and my muscles just couldn’t handle it.”
Tola, who set the course record last year, was looking to become the first consecutive men’s champion since Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai won in 2011 and 2013. The 2012 race was canceled due to Superstorm Sandy.
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 a setback in the men’s wheelchair race as three-time defending champion Marcel Hug was defeated by Daniel Romanchukwho also 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 giving the Americans winners in both events – the first time that has happened.
The 26.2-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 only 55 finishers, while this year more than 50,000 took part.
A few hours after the top runners finished, it was announced that the Sydney Marathon would become the seventh major marathon in the world, joining Berlin, Chicago, Boston, Tokyo, London and New York.
The weather was perfect for running with temperatures around 40 degrees when the race started. Last year it was 61 degrees when the race started.
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