ALMGREN AND CHEPKIRUI WIN NEW YORK CITY MARATHON TITLES

Sweden's Andreas Almgren and Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui won the men's and women's titles at the New York City Marathon on Sunday. Almgren won on his debut over the 26.2-mile distance in 2:06:01. He pulled away from defending champion Benson Kipruto and Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa in the final mile, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Crippa. Lesotho's Kamohelo Mofolo finished a further 12 seconds behind in third place, edging out Kipruto. Chepkirui won the women's race in 2:24:36 after pulling away in the final 150 metres.

American Jessica McClain passed two-time winner Hellen Obiri of Kenya in the final strides to finish second, six seconds behind Chepkirui. Obiri crossed the line one second behind McClain to take third. "The last mile was really tricky and I had to be patient because I knew Hellen was really strong," said Chepkirui. Almgren entered the race after winning 10,000m gold at the European Athletics Championships in August and breaking the European half-marathon record in September. "I just thought, 'I've got the legs today'," said Almgren, who waved his arms to the crowd in the closing metres.

Almgren became the first European-born man to win in New York in 30 years, following Italy's Giacomo Leone in 1996, while Chepkirui claimed her second victory at the event after winning in 2024. McClain became the first American woman to finish in the top three since 2018. The event marked the 50th anniversary of the course linking Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan. Retired footballer James Milner, who won the Premier League with Manchester City and Liverpool, also completed the race in 3:09:04.