New champions were crowned in the Big Apple on Sunday as the titles went to Kenya and the Netherlands
Sheila Chepkirui powered away from defending women’s champion Hellen Obiri at the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday as Abdi Nageeye took the men’s race in 2:07:39 from Evans Chebet.
With no pacemakers and a rolling, twisty course, New York is not known for producing fast times. On Sunday no one in the men’s and women’s races seemed keen to push the pace in the early stages either.
Things picked up in the second half of each race, but the winning times of 2:24:35 for Chepkirui and 2:07:39 for Nageeye still did not threaten the course records (Margaret Okayo’s 2:22:31 and Tamirat Tola’s 2:04:58) let alone the ever-improving world records.
Still, the championship-style racing produced some exciting action.
The women passed halfway in 73:59 with Chepkirui content to sit in the pack conserving energy. All eyes were on defending champion Obiri, but she ultimately had to concede defeat as she finished 14 seconds behind the winner.
“This means a lot to me as it shows my training has been going well,” said Chepkirui. “The last mile was very hard but I pushed myself and I’m so happy. I plan to be back next year!”
Sheila Chepkirui (Getty)
Kenyans took the top three places with Vivian Cheruiyot, 41, showing great form in the twilight of her career to place third in 2:25:21 after earlier trying to break away.
Eunice Chumba of Bahrain was fourth in 2:25:58 and Fabienne Schlumpf of Switzerland was fifth in 2:26:31 with Sara Vaughn being the first American home in 2:26:56 and then Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia in 2:27:14.
Sharon Lokedi, the 2022 winner and 2023 runner-up, was ninth as Lily Partridge was the leading Brit home in 2:30:55.
Tirunesh Dibaba, the multiple global track champion, dropped out soon after halfway.
The men’s race developed in similar fashion with halfway passed in a slow 65:33 with lots of runners still in contention.
At around 25km, though, the pack split up when Chebet put in a surge, soon followed by Tola, as the reigning champion and Olympic gold medallist went to the front.
The battle boiled down to Nageeye versus Chebet in Central Park, however, with the 35-year-old Somali-Dutch runner surging clear of Chebet, with the Kenyan finishing six seconds behind.
Abdi Nageeye (Getty)
“I felt so good I felt I could go on to 50km!” said Nageeye. “I’ve had a tough year and the Olympics was disappointing for me but this felt like a dream…
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