The New York City Marathon delivered an unforgettable spectacle on Sunday, a new women’s course record and the closest men’s finish in the event’s history, decided by just a split second.
Kenya’s Hellen Obiri shattered the women’s course record, while fellow Kenyan Benson Kipruto won a heart-stopping men’s race, crossing the line barely ahead of Alexander Mutiso by three-hundredths of a second.
Obiri, who also won last year, clocked 2 hours, 19 minutes, 51 seconds. She ran side-by-side with 2022 champion Sharon Lokedi before pulling away aggressively in the final mile, finishing 16 seconds ahead and beating the previous course record of 2:22:31 set by Margaret Okayo in 2003.
“It feels amazing. I am so proud to run a course record,” Obiri said afterward. “With 1K left, I knew I still had energy and could finish strong.”
Defending champion Sheila Chepkirui placed third. Remarkably, all three women ran faster than the former record, helped by perfect running weather with temperatures in the 50s Fahrenheit.In the men’s competition, Kipruto and Mutiso broke away from the pack around Mile 24.
Kipruto seemed to have secured victory with a lead in the final 200 meters, but Mutiso launched a late surge in the last 50 meters, almost catching him. Kipruto, competing in New York for the first time, finished in 2:08:40, beating the previous closest finish set in 2005.
“I knew Mutiso was right behind me,” Kipruto said. “He’s a strong runner, and it was extremely tight.”
Albert Korir, the 2021 winner, finished third giving, Kenya a 1-2-3 sweep in both men’s and women’s races. American Joel Reichow finished sixth.
Marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge, nearing his 41st birthday, completed his first NYC Marathon and finished 17th. He has won 11 major world marathons throughout his career.
On the women’s side, the pack of former champions broke away near Mile 20. American Fiona O’Keeffe and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands joined briefly but were unable to keep pace in the final miles.
It was the first time since 2018 that the previous three women’s winners competed together, and they lived up to expectations. Kenya once again claimed the top three.
O’Keeffe finished fourth and broke the American course record with 2:22:49.
“It was so exciting. I can’t take full credit for the time, the women ahead pushed me,” O’Keeffe said. “Feels great to be back in the marathon.”
Fellow American Annie Frisbie took fifth, making four of the top nine finishers from the United States. Hassan, fresh off her Sydney Marathon win two months ago, placed sixth.
Chelsea Clinton also completed the race in just under 3 hours, 45 minutes, welcomed at the finish line by her parents, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The 26.2-mile course passed through all five boroughs, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and finished in Central Park. This marks the 49th year the race crossed all boroughs. Before that, the route stayed entirely in Central Park.
The first marathon had only 55 finishers. Last year, a record 55,642 people crossed the finish line, the most in marathon history, until London surpassed it earlier this year.
