Sweden’s Andreas Almgren and Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui won the New York City Marathon on Sunday, on the 50th anniversary of the race’s five-borough course.
Almgren won the men’s race in 2:06.41 in his marathon debut, pulling away from the field to become the first Swedish winner of the race and the first debut winner since 2010. Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa finished second, 0.13 seconds behind, with Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho third. Almgren took home $100,000 for the victory.
Chepkirui won the women’s race for the second time, breaking the tape in Central Park in 2:24.36 after a sprint finish. She and last year’s champion, Hellen Obiri, broke away from the pack with three miles to go, and Chepkirui held on as Obiri faded. Jessica McClain of the United States chased Obiri down in the final 30 metres to finish second, becoming the first American woman on the podium since 2018 and automatically qualifying for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The result extended Kenya’s dominance of the women’s race: it was the eighth consecutive time, excluding the cancelled 2020 event, that a Kenyan woman has won in New York. The top nine women finishers were all from Kenya or the United States.
The American men’s wait for a home winner continued. Zouhair Talbi of Colorado Springs was the leading American man in sixth place in 2:06.43, the fastest time ever recorded by an American man at the New York City Marathon, while Benson Kipruto, last year’s winner, finished fourth. Meb Keflezighi, in 2009, remains the last American man to win the race.
In the wheelchair races, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug edged American Daniel Romanchuk in the final 100 metres to win his eighth New York title in 1:28:14, while Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland won the women’s wheelchair race for a second time in 1:40.02.
About 60,000 runners took part in the race, which began on Staten Island, crossed the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and passed through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx before finishing in Central Park. Organisers described it as one of the deepest and fastest fields ever assembled, with 40 Olympians and Paralympians among the starters, and crowds of nearly two million lined the route.
Note: the featured image is a file photo from the 2024 New York City Marathon, showing Chepkirui among the elite women’s leaders; it is not a photograph of today’s race.
Sources: USA TODAY, “Sweden’s Andreas Almgren, Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui win NYC Marathon”, 1 November 2026, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2026/11/01/nyc-marathon-2026-start-time-tv-route-results/92519937007/
