In his debut at the distance, Andreas Almgren ran yesterday’s New York City Marathon like a veteran, perfectly marshalling his energy for one big move in the final mile to win in 2:06:01. The Swede is the first European man to win the race since Giacomo Leone in 1996.

Yeman Crippa of Italy, who was the last to hang with Almgren, placed second in 2:06:14 (and then promptly vomited). Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho outkicked defending champion Benson Kipruto in the final meters to finish third in a personal best of 2:06:26, one second ahead of Kipruto.

Almgren is a world-class track runner…who has quickly also mastered road racing.

Almgren is a world-class track runner – he won bronze at 10 000 metres at last year’s world championships – who has quickly also mastered road racing. Six weeks ago, he won the world half marathon championship in a national record of 58:06. He boasts an 800 metre best of 1:45, a borderline world-class time that none of his competitors has run.

Despite that pedigree, none of the seasoned marathoners made a serious effort to drop Almgren far out from the finish. Fifteen men remained bunched at the 35km mark.

The real racing didn’t start until defending champ Kipruto surged to a 4:38 at the 38km mark, which led to him, Almgren, and Crippa separating. Almgren, who trains by kilometres instead of miles, waited until just before 40km to take the lead for the first time. Crippa was able to stick with him for another kilometre, but right as Crippa snuck a look back on Central Park South, Almgren surged again and ran unchallenged to the finish.

When asked after the race whether he thought the moderate first 30 kilometres was playing into his hands, Almgren said, “Kinda, but not really. I mean, this is my first marathon. I don’t really know how it’s supposed to feel at those different points.”

At the 32km mark, Almgren said, “I was like, ‘Shit, I’m tired. Why are my legs feeling like this?’” But a few minutes later, “I just started feeling like, ‘It’s pretty easy to respond now to the moves.’ So somewhere around there I felt like, ‘Okay, this might be my day.’”

Known as a meticulous planner and trainer, Almgren watched last year’s marathon from three spots – from the 12 km mark in Brooklyn, at the 27km mark along First Avenue in Manhattan, and near the finish in Central Park. That evening, he texted his manager that he wanted to race here this year.

Almgren earned R1.6 million ($100 000) for his win, with Crippa and Mofolo getting R960 000 ($60 000) and R640 000 ($40,000), respectively, for placing second and third. Mofolo might especially enjoy his earnings, given that today is his 21st birthday and he can now legally visit a tavern or two should the mood strike. He’s one to keep an eye on. He debuted at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in May, placing 11th in 2:08:50, and not only improved significantly but ran fearlessly, even taking a brief solo lead around the 32km mark.

For what was such a moderate race early on, with the leaders passing halfway between 64:01 and 64:04, the finishing times significantly rewrote the event’s all-time performance list. Almgren’s 2:06:01 ties the fourth-fastest in race history, and Crippa, Mofolo, Kipruto, Haftu Strintzos (fifth in 2:06:34), and Talbi are also now in the top ten.

Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui Wins Her Second NYC Marathon

Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya, the 2024 New York City Marathon champion and third at the race last year, made a strong move on the gradual climb up Fifth Avenue to Central Park to try to separate herself from the defending champion and course record holder, Hellen Obiri.

As they made the right turn into Central Park at 90th Street, Obiri hung on as best she could, a half step behind Chepkirui.

It took Chepkirui until the final 200 meters of the race to shake free of Obiri and break the tape in 2:24:36.

“The last mile was really tricky,” Chepkirui told ESPN after the race. “I had to be patient, because I knew Hellen was really strong. I had to really push up to the finish line.”

Meanwhile, in the final steps of the race, American Jess McClain, who had fallen seven seconds behind the leaders at the 38km mark, overtook Obiri for second. McClain crossed in 2:24:42, and Obiri was third in 2:24:43. McClain is the first American to be on the podium in New York City since Shalane Flanagan was third in 2018. Flanagan also won in 2017.

McClain showed herself to be a master of the New York course, running the tangents around the curves in Central Park while Chepkirui and Obiri swung wide.

Chepkirui earns R1.6 million ($100,000) for the win. McClain takes home a total of R1 360 000 ($85,000), winning R960 000 ($60,000) for second place and R400 000 ($25,000) as the top American.

This article first appeared on the Runner’s World USA website.

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