Andreas Almgren wins men’s race in NYC in marathon debut, Sheila Chepkirui wins women’s race

NEW YORK (AP) — Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the men’s race of the New York City Marathon in his debut in the event while Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women’s race for the second time Sunday.

Almgren was making his debut at 26.2 miles after a successful career running half-marathons. He pulled away from Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in the final mile to take the victory in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second. Crippa finished 13 seconds behind. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho was third, edging out defending champion Benson Kipruto.

Chepkirui, who also won the race in 2024, pulled away from countrymate Hellen Obiri in the final 150 meters to seal the victory in 2:24:36. American Jessica McClain finished second, passing Obiri — a two-time winner — in the final few strides. It was the first time a U.S. woman finished in the top three since 2018. McClain was 6 seconds behind Chepkirui.

It was the 50th time that the race has run through all five boroughs of the city. There were just over 2,000 competitors in 1976, the seventh running of the race, including only 88 women. About 60,000 runners stepped up to the starting line Sunday, with nearly half of them women.