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Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands won his first major marathon crown and Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui won her racing debut at the 53rd New York Marathon on Sunday.
Nageeye, a 35-year-old Somali-born Dutchman who finished second in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics and third in New York in 2022, won in an official time of 2 hours 07 minutes 39 seconds.
“I knew it was my day,” Nageeye said.
“I was so focused. Everyone was trying to move and I was behind them. You’re not going anywhere. This is my race today.”
Nageeye beat New York 2022 champion Evans Chebet of Kenya by six seconds, while New York 2021 winner Albert Korir of Kenya was third in 2:08:00.
In the women’s race, Chepkirui won in 2:24:35, pulling away late to defeat defending champion Hellen Obiri by 14 seconds, with Vivian Cheruiyot completing the Kenyan women’s podium in 2:25:21.
“It means a lot to me,” Chepkirui said. “It means my training has been good and I’m so happy.
“I had to dig deep. Towards the last kilometer it was really hard, but I pushed myself to the limit.”
More than 50,000 runners competed on the 26.2-mile route across the city, from Staten Island to the finish line in Central Park.
Nageeye didn’t finish the Paris Olympics but put that disappointment into the training that produced his triumphant effort in New York.
“Every day I thought about the Olympics, but I have to train. I have to come back. I have to go to New York, at least on the podium, but my goal was to win,” he said. “It looked simple, but there was hard work behind it.”
During the race, Nageeye said, he couldn’t believe how good he felt as the miles ticked by.
“I checked my watch, I was seeing the miles coming, I was running the miles and I was in disbelief,” Nageeye said.
“When I saw 39, 40 km and I felt like that, I can move on to 50 km. I was so focused that when I got to the finish, I said to myself: ‘I’m going to win. I’m going to win.’ ‘
“The emotions weren’t there at the time, I just thought I was dreaming.”
– Tola fourth –
Reigning Olympic champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia missed his chance to become the first man to win in New York and take Olympic gold in the same year by finishing fourth, 32 seconds off the pace.
Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor, New York champion 2017 and 2019, finished fifth in 2:08:50.
Chebet, a two-time Boston Marathon winner, surged at mile 16 and by mile 20 the peloton had fallen to the bottom five.
Tola fell back at the 22nd mile and Chebet and Nageeye were side by side until the Dutchman pulled ahead at the 26 mile mark.
The women’s race became a battle between Obiri and Chepkirui over the final kilometer, with Chepkirui pulling away in the final stretch.
Obiri, who won bronze at the Paris Olympics, missed the chance to become New York’s first consecutive winner since Kenya’s Mary Keitany won three in a row from 2014 to 2016.
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