When more than 50,000 runners hit the streets for the New York City Marathon on November 3, Olympic champion Gabby Thomas will be there to serve as the grand marshal.
New York Road Runners, the organizers of the event, announced on Friday that Thomas will welcome runners on the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island at the start of the race.
Her duties on marathon day will be part of a packed weekend, as she will also make an appearance at the race expo and greet runners as they collect their medals at the finish line in Central Park.
“I am thrilled to serve as the Grand Marshal for this year’s TCS New York City Marathon, supporting more than 50,000 runners as they cross the finish line,” Thomas said in a statement. “I was so fortunate to experience the feeling of having thousands of people cheer for me this summer, and I can’t wait to be the one cheering on these incredible runners as they achieve a major goal.”
Thomas had a busy summer as a member of Team USA in the Paris Olympics in August. She won three gold medals in the 200m, 4x400m relay and 4x100m relay. Her season official ended last month when she took part in Athlos, a new women-only track event in New York.
“We are so excited to have such an accomplished and inspirational athlete as Gabby serve as our 2024 Grand Marshal,” Rob Simmelkjaer, New York Road Runners CEO said in a statement. “Part of what makes the TCS New York City Marathon the best day in New York City is the opportunity to bring together elite runners with thousands of runners and millions of fans, all on the same course.”
The New York City Marathon will be the last of the six marathon majors in 2024.
It’s unclear, for now, if the race will reclaim its title for the most finishers in a marathon. It held the previous record, 53,627 from 2019 and that mark was broken at the Paris Marathon in April with 54,175 finishers. The Paris mark was broken in last month’s Berlin marathon, as 54,280 completed the race.
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