Almgren shocks field with debut victory at New York City Marathon

Andreas Almgren won the men's New York City Marathon on Sunday, completing the 26.2-mile distance in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second. The Swedish runner secured the victory in his first attempt at the full marathon distance, ending a career that had focused primarily on half-marathon events.

Almgren separated from the pack during the final mile of the race. He finished 13 seconds ahead of Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy, who took second place. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho placed third, narrowly beating defending champion Benson Kipruto of Kenya for fourth.

The winning time ranked as the third fastest in the event's 50-year history. Six men crossed the finish line with times under 2:07, placing them in the top 10 for the course. Almgren received a $100,000 prize for his win. He noted that he chose New York because the focus there is on positioning rather than a specific target time.

In the women's race, Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya took the victory for the second time. She had previously won the event in 2024. Chepkirui broke away from Hellen Obiri of Kenya in the final 150 meters to finish in 2:24:36. American Jessica McClain finished second, passing Obiri in the final strides to claim the silver medal.

McClain's performance marked a milestone for American runners. She became the first U.S. woman to finish in the top three since 2018. She finished six seconds behind Chepkirui. Zouhair Talbi of the United States also made history in the men's race, finishing sixth with the fastest time ever recorded by a U.S. runner in this event.

This year marked the 50th edition of the race that traverses all five boroughs of New York City. The event began in 1970, with the first six years running entirely in loops around Central Park. The course moved to the boroughs in 1976 to celebrate the U.S. bicentennial. That inaugural borough run featured just over 2,000 participants, including only 88 women. Sunday's field included approximately 60,000 runners from more than 140 countries, with nearly half of the entrants being women.

Organizers implemented a minor course adjustment for the first time in 15 years. The route changed at Mile 20 when the race entered the Bronx. The new path reduced the number of turns in the borough from seven to five. Officials cited a desire to ease street closures in the area as the reason for the change.

In the wheelchair categories, Marcel Hug of Sweden won the men's race for the eighth time. He defeated Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second. Romanchuk had taken the lead in the final mile as they entered Central Park, but Hug passed him in the final 100 meters. Catherine Debrunner of Sweden won the women's wheelchair race in 1:40:02. Her time was the second fastest in the history of the event, trailing her own record from 2023 by about 30 seconds. Susannah Scaroni finished third in the women's wheelchair race, more than eight minutes behind Debrunner, three months after giving birth to her first child.