Andreas Almgren stormed to a commanding victory in his marathon debut as Sheila Chepkirui pulled away late to take the win on Sunday at the New York City Marathon.
The final major of the year delivered a pair of stunning performances, with Almgren navigating an aggressive men’s lead group to win in 2:06:01. Just weeks after grabbing the men’s half marathon title in 58:06 in a frantic final sprint at the road running championships in Copenhagen in September, Almgren delivered another dose of drama on the biggest stage.
In what turned into excellent conditions for racing, early in the competition it was simply a guess of who would break away early and who would respond. A large lead pack swelled to at least 25 men, with Stephen Jones taking change and was accompanied by Almgren, Zouhair Talbi, Deresa Geleta, Edward Cheserek, Conner Mantz, Patrick Kiprop and defending champion Benson Kipruto — and several others.
At the halfway point at 1:04:01, Talbi held a slim three-second lead and appeared to begin to stake his claim at defining the rest of the race. And his initiative seemed to work, leading an all-American assault at the 35km mark at 1:45:33 as Mantz and Ahmed Muhumed trailed closely.
But they would have a tough time holding back the rest of the lead group that seemed to ignite as the road ahead of them dwindled. Almgren, Kipruto and Crippa took off at the 40km mark at exactly two hours, unleashing a chase as the crowd on the street outside of Central Park erupted.
And just like his winning move in Copenhagen, Almgren found the extra gear to kick as he took the victory and instantly broke into celebration.
Crippa took second in 2:06:14 while Kamohelo Mofolo finished third in 2:06:26.
Almgren is the first Swedish runner to win in New York and the first to win in his debut since Gebregziabher Gebremariam clocked a 2:08:14 in 2010. A spark for big victories also came in August as Almgren surged to a 27:23.44 championship record in the 10,000m at the European championships in Birmingham.
Meanwhile, Chepkirui found her way back to the top of the podium in New York after finishing third last year with Hellen Obiri taking the 2025 race. But Chepkirui would flip the narrative on Sunday to take the women’s race in 2:24:36 while Obiri would have to watch as a share of the lead would fade in the closing moments.
Through 10km at 35:45, Chepkirui and Obiri were joined by a packed lead group that was loaded with notables like Viola Cheptoo, Edna Kiplagat, Weini Kelati, Mercy Chelangat, Jessica McClain, Carrie Ellwood and Rie Kawauchi.
The pack would remain largely in place and approached the 35km mark at 2:01:15 as Obiri and Chepkirui controlled the pace with
McClain, Kelati, Chelangat, Kiplagat and Ellwood close by while Cheptoo drifted behind.
Obiri and Chepkirui inched into the 40km point at 2:17:39 and launched into a sprint as they reentered the park in what looked like a finish that could have tipped in favor of either runner. But Obiri labored in her final steps as Chepkirui leaned into her kick and grabbed the win.
McClain emerged late to snatch second place in 2:24:42 while Obiri settled for third in 2:24:43.
Marcel Hug needed a come-from-behind effort to squeeze past Daniel Romanchuk on the final 800 meters to take the men’s wheelchair race by just a second in 1:28:14. Romanchuk appeared to have adequate positioning to hold off Hug, who pushed harder and slipped around Romanchuk just before crossing the finish line as he defended his title.
Romanchuk was second in 1:28:15 while David Weir took third in 1:35:38.
In the women’s wheelchair division, Catherine Debrunner bolted to a commanding 1:40:02 victory, a margin by over eight minutes, and returned to the championship status in New York for the first time since 2023.
Tatyana McFadden crossed the line in 1:48:28 for second as last year’s winner Susannah Scaroni was third in 1:48:32 and unable to get a third straight win on the course.
Men’s Elite Finishers
1. Andreas Almgren (Sweden) – 2:06:01
2. Yemaneberhan Crippa (Italy) – 2:06:14
3. Kamohelo Mofolo (Lesotho) – 2:06:26
4. Benson Kipruto (Kenya) – 2:06:27
5. Haftu Strintzos (Australia) – 2:06:34
6. Zouhair Talbi (United States) – 2:06:43
7. Ahmed Muhumed (United States) – 2:07:08
8. Geoffrey Kamworor (Kenya) – 2:07:09
9. Ryota Kondo (Japan) – 2:07:09
10. Ryan Ford (United States) – 2:07:17
Women’s Elite Finishers
1. Sheila Chepkirui (Kenya) – 2:24:36
2. Jessica McClain (United States) – 2:24:42
3. Hellen Obiri (Kenya) – 2:24:43
4. Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) – 2:25:42
5. Mercy Chelangat (Kenya) – 2:25:46
6. Carrie Ellwood (United States) – 2:26:28
7. Weini Kelati (United States) – 2:26:51
8. Paige Wood (United States) – 2:27:29
9. Viola Cheptoo (Kenya) – 2:28:34
10. Fabienne Königstein (Germany) – 2:28:49
Men’s Wheelchair Division
1. Marcel Hug (Switzerland) – 1:28:14
2. Daniel Romanchuk (United States) – 1:28:15
3. David Weir (Great Britain) – 1:35:38
4. Lito Anker (Netherlands) – 1:35:39
5. Aaron Pike (United States) – 1:37:06
6. Ludwig Malter (Austria) – 1:38:53
7. Miguel Jimenez Vergara (United States) – 1:39:38
8. Evan Correll (United States) – 1:40:37
9. Johnboy Smith (Great Britain) – 1:40:39
10 Patrick Monahan (Ireland) – 1:40:39
Women’s Wheelchair Division
1. Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) – 1:40:02
2. Tatyana McFadden (United States) – 1:48:28
3. Susannah Scaroni (United States) – 1:48:32
4. Madison de Rozario (Australia) – 1:53:06
5. Eden Rainbow-Cooper (Great Britain) – 1:55:51
6. Hoda Elshorbagy (Egypt) – 2:00:09
7. Vanessa de Souza (Brazil) – 2:00:33
8. Patricia Eachus (Switzerland) – 2:01:58
9. Hannah Dederick (United States) – 2:06:06
10. Emelia Perry (United States) – 2:09:01
