Almgren wins debut NYC Marathon

Andreas Almgren of Sweden took the men's New York City Marathon title on Sunday in his first attempt at the full distance. He finished in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second, pulling away from Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in the final mile. Crippa crossed the line 13 seconds later. This time ranks as the third fastest in the event's 50-year history.

Almgren had previously built his career on half-marathons. He became the first runner to win the race in his debut since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won in 2010. The top seven finishers all posted times that place them among the top 10 all-time performances for this course. American Zouhair Talbi finished sixth, marking the fastest time ever recorded by a U.S. runner in this specific race.

Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women's race, securing her second victory after winning in 2024. She defeated Hellen Obiri of Kenya in the final 150 meters with a time of 2:24:36. Jessica McClain of the United States finished second, passing Obiri in the final strides. McClain was six seconds behind Chepkirui. Her top-three finish marks the first time a U.S. woman has placed in the top three since 2018.

The event marked the 50th time the race traversed all five boroughs of New York City. Approximately 60,000 runners started the race, with nearly half of them being women. Participants represented more than 140 countries. The field was vastly larger than in 1976, the seventh running of the race, which included just over 2,000 competitors and only 88 women.

A minor route change occurred at Mile 20 as the race entered the Bronx. This was the first course alteration in 15 years. Organizers reduced the number of turns in the borough from seven to five to ease street closures. Defending men's champion Benson Kipruto finished fourth, behind Mofolo of Lesotho.

In the wheelchair races, Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men's category for the eighth time. He edged out Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second after passing him in the final 100 meters. Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland won the women's wheelchair race in 1:40:02. Her time was the second fastest in race history, trailing her own 2023 record by about 30 seconds.

Defending women's wheelchair champion Susannah Scaroni finished third. She competed three months after giving birth to her first child. She finished more than eight minutes behind Debrunner.