The Netherlands’ Abdi Nageeye won a thrilling men’s race at the New York City marathon on Sunday, while Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui marked her debut with a victory in the women’s race.
Nageeye produced a powerful sprint finish to edge ahead of 2022 winner Evans Chebet in the race’s closing stages and crossed the line in a time of 2:07.39, six seconds faster than Chebet.
They had been part of a strong six-man group which emerged in the race’s final 10 miles and then was gradually whittled down as each runner dropped off the pace. Defending champion Tamarit Tola was among them but lost contact with the leaders with five miles left and eventually finished in fourth place. Kenya’s Albert Korir rounded out the men’s podium in third place.
Similarly, there was a thrilling finish in the women’s race as Chepkirui accelerated just before the finish to drop her compatriot Hellen Obiri, the defending champion. Chepkirui recorded a time of 2:24.35, living up to her status as one of the pre-race favorites, while Obiri finished almost 15 seconds back. Vivian Cheruiyot crossed the line in third, making it a clean sweep on the podium for Kenya.
In the men’s wheelchair race, the USA’s Daniel Romanchuk took his first win at this marathon since 2019, ending Swiss star Marcel Hug’s domination of this event in recent years. Hug had won 16 consecutive marathons but faded early and could only finish fourth. Britain’s David Weir finished second, five seconds behind Romanchuk, while Japan’s Tomoki Suzuki finished another seven seconds back in third after a thrilling sprint finish.
Meanwhile, Romanchuk’s compatriot Susannah Scaroni won the women’s wheelchair race by more than 10 minutes, marking the first time in the race’s history that Americans had won both wheelchair races.
“Always so special to be here in New York City,” Scaroni said, per AP. “I woke up feeling great today, never take it for granted. Coming up the last hill we had a tailwind today. So I had a little more energy then I normally do at that hill.”