Hellen Obiri wins the New York City Marathon (© AFP / Getty Images)
Hellen Obiri regained her title at the TCS New York City Marathon, taking almost three minutes off the course record to win the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in 2:19:51 on Sunday (2).
She was joined on the podium by compatriots and former winners Sharon Lokedi (2:20:07) and Sheila Chepkirui (2:20:24), the defending champion, both of whom finished inside the previous course record (2:22:31), which had been held by Margaret Okayo since 2003.
While Obiri’s victory was a decisive one, the men’s race was incredibly close as just 16 hundredths of a second separated eventual winner Benson Kipruto from runner-up Alexander Mutiso, both men clocking 2:08:09.
For the first time in the history of the prestigious event, Kenya achieved podium sweeps of both the men’s and women’s races.
From the outset, the women’s race promised fireworks with several women in contention, all operating at course record pace. A large lead pack of 13 runners, including the past three champions – Chepkirui, Obiri and Lokedi – as well as Sifan Hassan and US duo Emily Sisson and Fiona O’Keeffe, went through 10km in 33:53. Hassan, the Olympic champion, sat near the back of the group, content to bide her time.
By 15km (50:52), the leading trio of Chepkirui, Lokedi and Obiri had taken charge, gradually thinning the pack to nine. Hassan continued to shadow the group, while 2016 Olympic 5000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot was also in the pack.
Six women – Chepkirui, Lokedi, Obiri, Sisson, O’Keeffe and Annie Frisbie – opened a small gap on Hassan and Cheruiyot, reaching 20km in 1:07:24, well inside course record pace. By halfway (1:11:01), just four remained at the front: the three Kenyan champions and O’Keeffe, with Hassan trailing by six seconds.
Hassan briefly bridged the gap at about the 14-mile mark, but the move was short-lived. As the tempo increased, she once again slipped off the back, followed soon after by O’Keeffe, leaving Obiri, Lokedi and Chepkirui to battle for supremacy.
There were further shifts at 17 miles, as O’Keeffe managed to rejoin the leaders, and Hassan remained within striking distance. The quartet reached 30km in 1:40:11, still on track for a finishing time comfortably under 2:21. But the relentless pace soon began to take its toll. Both O’Keeffe and Hassan lost contact once again, and by 35km (1:56:48), the Kenyan trio had built a commanding lead – 39 seconds clear of O’Keeffe and more than a minute ahead of Hassan.
Chepkirui was the first of the three to falter, slipping behind with 2:10 on the clock. Obiri and Lokedi pressed on together until Obiri, looking composed and powerful, made her decisive move with about three miles remaining. Her long surge to the finish proved irresistible.
The two-time world 5000m champion crossed the line in 2:19:51, smashing the PB of 2:23:10 she had set when earning Olympic bronze last year. She clocked 2:17:41 when finishing second in Boston earlier this year, though that course isn’t eligible for PBs or records.
Lokedi, the 2022 winner, followed 16 seconds later, while Chepkirui held firm for third in 2:20:24, ensuring a Kenyan sweep of the podium for the second year in a row.
O’Keeffe took fourth in 2:22:49, comfortably ahead of US compatriot Frisbie (2:24:12), while Hassan – running just two months after winning the Sydney Marathon in course record time – finished sixth in 2:24:43.
In the men’s race, a large group of 21 runners passed 10km in a cautious 30:22, content to keep the pace steady on the rolling New York course. Distance-running legends Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele were part of that pack, along with Albert Korir, Alexander Mutiso and Benson Kipruto. The same group remained intact through 15km (46:01) and halfway (1:05:18), as no one seemed eager to make an early move.
With 75 minutes on the clock, marathon debutant and former steeplechaser Hillary Bor injected a burst of pace, surging clear of the field. His solo effort didn’t last long, but it served its purpose, stringing out the pack and setting the stage for the decisive moves to come.
By 30km (1:32:21), the lead group had been reduced to eight: Bor, Korir, Kipruto, Abel Kipchumba, Tsegay Weldibanos, Abbabiya Simbassa, Mutiso and Britain’s Patrick Dever. They were still together at 35km (1:47:37), but the cohesion was short-lived. As the pace quickened once more, the group splintered, leaving Kipruto – the Olympic bronze medallist – and Mutiso, the 2024 London Marathon champion, to battle for victory over the final kilometres.
Kipruto appeared to have made a decisive move in the closing stages, but Mutiso mounted a late challenge, surging back to within striking distance. Kipruto held firm, though, crossing the line in 2:08:09 to claim his first New York title, adding it to his Boston (2021) and Chicago (2022) victories.
Korir followed in 2:08:57 for third place, just one second ahead of marathon debutant Dever. Kipchoge, contesting the New York Marathon for the first time, finished 17th in 2:14:36.
Leading results
Women
1 Hellen Obiri (KEN) 2:19:51
2 Sharon Lokedi (KEN) 2:20:07
3 Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) 2:20:24
4 Fiona O’Keeffe (USA) 2:22:49
5 Annie Frisbie (USA) 2:24:12
6 Sifan Hassan (NED) 2:24:43
7 Jessica Warner-Judd (GBR) 2:24:45
8 Emily Sisson (USA) 2:25:05
9 Amanda Vestri (USA) 2:25:40
10 Fionnuala McCormack (IRL) 2:27:00
Men
1 Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:08:09
2 Alexander Mutiso (KEN) 2:08:09
3 Albert Korir (KEN) 2:08:57
4 Patrick Dever (GBR) 2:08:58
5 Matthias Kyburz (SUI) 2:09:55
6 Joel Reichow (USA) 2:09:56
7 Charles Hicks (USA) 2:09:59
8 Sondre Nordstad Moen (NOR) 2:10:15
9 Tsegay Weldibanos (ERI) 2:10:36
10 Joe Klecker (USA) 2:10:37
