Chepkirui takes duel of past champs, Almgren wins debut at NYC Marathon

• ESPN News Services

Nov 1, 2026, 11:10 AM ET

Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women's race of the New York City Marathon on Sunday for the second time.

Chepkirui, who also won in 2024, pulled away from countrymate Hellen Obiri in the final 150 meters to seal the victory in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 36 seconds.

American Jessica McClain finished second after she passed 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 Shalane Flanagan in 2018. McClain was 6 seconds behind Chepkirui.

Andreas Almgren -- competing in the marathon for the first time -- won the men's race in 2:06:01. Almgren, of Sweden, is the reigning world half-marathon champion.

He pulled away from Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in the final mile to win by 13 seconds. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho was third, edging out defending champion Benson Kipruto.

Almgren's time was the third fastest in the course's 50-year history, and the top seven finishers were among the top 10 all time. He became the first marathoner to win his debut in the event since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won in 2010.

American Zouhair Talbi finished sixth and ran the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in the event.

Marcel Hug won his eighth men's wheelchair title in New York, beating Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second. Romanchuk made a move to take over the lead in the last mile as the pair entered Central Park for the final time. Hug passed him in the final 100 meters to win in 1:28:14.

Catherine Debrunner pulled away from the field early to win the women's wheelchair race in 1:40:02. It was the second-fastest time in race history, trailing her own mark by about 30 seconds from 2023. Two-time defending champion Susannah Scaroni finished third, three months after giving birth to her first child. She was more than eight minutes behind Debrunner.

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 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. There were runners from more than 140 countries competing Sunday.

For the first time in 15 years, there was a minor change in the course. The runners took a slightly different route at Mile 20 when the race entered the Bronx. The move was made to reduce the number of turns in the borough from seven to five and ease some of the street closures in the area.