NEW YORK – A trio of women from Kenya finished atop the podium, continuing the country’s domination in the professional race at the TCS New York City Marathon, with Hellen Obiri crossing the finish line first at Central Park, breaking the course record after a final sprint down the stretch.
Obiri, the 2023 winner, finished the race in 2:19:51, shattering the old mark of 2:22:31 set by Margaret Okayo in 2003. Sharon Lokedi, who won in 2022, was second, 16 seconds behind Obiri, who won a $50,000 bonus for breaking the course record along with the $100,000 prize for winning the race.
Sheila Chepkirui, the defending champion, fell off the pace in the final five miles and finished in third, nearly 34 seconds behind.
This is the seventh consecutive time, excluding the 2020 event, which was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, that Kenya has won the women’s professional race. It was also the second straight year that Kenyans took the top three spots in the women’s field.
The Kenyan dominance also extended to the men, as a pack of eight runners that were bunched together at mile 20 quickly became two, with Alexander Mutiso and Benson Kipruto separating quickly.
The final 50 meters were as thrilling as ever, with a final sprint and Kipruto beating Mutiso to the tape in 2:08:09, winning by 0.16 seconds, the closest men’s finish ever. Fellow Kenyan Albert Korir, the 2021 winner, finished in third, just as he did last year.
Joel Reichow was the top American finisher, coming in seventh with a time of 2:09:56.
In the women’s race, the Kenyans and American Fiona O’Keeffe, a Stanford graduate from Davis, California, were leading the pack for the first 15 miles of the race before O’Keeffe fell back, finishing fourth. At the mile 23 mark, the Kenyan women were still within milliseconds of each other before Obiri made her winning push.
Annie Frisbie, a 28-year-old American from Wisconsin, was fifth (2:24:12), and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, the marathon gold medalist at the Paris Olympics, who was making her NYC debut, came in sixth at 2:24:43.
Marcel Hug wins 7th NYC marathon wheelchair title; Susannah Scaroni defends crown
The wheelchair division also featured former winners, and six of them started, but it was Marcel Hug and Susannah Scaroni who stole the show.
Hug, nicknamed ‘The Silver Bullet,’ matching the color of his racing helmet, bounced back from his disappointing 2024 race, where he finished fourth, to extend his record by winning his seventh wheelchair title. He also won in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Hug, who won his eighth Boston Marathon in April, took control around the nine-mile mark, increasing his lead to more than a minute and cruising from there. The 39-year-old Swiss native finished in a blur, averaging an incredible 3:27 pace down the backstretch, but fell short of the course record he set in 2022, crossing the finish line at 1:30:16.
‘To be honest, it was maybe not as easy as it looked,’ Hug said. ‘I had some issues with my back stroke, so I lost some seconds. But who cares? I won the race, and I’m really happy.’ Hug said after the race.
England’s David Weir finished second, nearly four minutes behind, and Tomoki Suzuki from Japan completed the podium with a time of 1:36:28. Daniel Romanchuk, the reigning men’s wheelchair champion, suffered a shoulder injury at the Sydney Marathon after an on-course collision with a spectator and did not compete.
Scaroni, adding to her 2022 and 2024 victories, made quick work of her competition from the start, breaking the tape at 1:42:10, more than five minutes and 40 seconds ahead of Tatyana McFadden, a five-time winner at the NYC Marathon, and Catherine Debrunner, the 2023 champion.
Hug and Scaroni each took home $50,000 for their victories, up from the $35,000 the wheelchair winners received last year. Scaroni, adding to her 2022 and 2024 victories, made quick work of her competition from the start and finished in 1:42:10.
Tatyana McFadden, a five-time winner of the NYC Marathon, was second, and Catherine Debrunner, the 2023 champion, came in third, both finishing more than five minutes and 40 seconds behind Scaroni.
By the numbers:
- 4:31:31 – Average finishing time in 2024
- 20 – Therapy dogs from New York Pet Therapy at starting line to support runners
- 137 – Countries represented in 2024
- 300 – Gallons of Gatorade Endurance Formula
- 6,000 – Servings of hot tea/hot chocolate
- 43,000 – Bagels available
- 50,000 – Servings of coffee
- 55,642 – Finishers in 2024 (an NYC marathon record)
- 1,445,304 – Participants who have crossed the finish line
Celebrity runners
- Alex Cora –Boston Red Sox manager
- Alexi Pappas – former Olympic runner
- Anthony Ramos – actor, “Hamilton,” “A House of Dynamite”
- Isaac Rochell – former NFL player
- Patina Miller – Tony Award-winning Broadway star and actor
- Tayshia Adams – The television host and former Bachelor contestant
- Phil Keoghan – host, “The Amazing Race”
- Errol Barnett – CBS News anchor and national correspondent
- Nev Schulman – Host of ‘Catfish: The TV Show’
- N.O.R.E. – hip-hop musician
This story was updated to add more information and a gallery.