Almgren Wins NYC Marathon Debut

Andreas Almgren won his first New York City Marathon.

The Swedish runner took the men's title on Sunday in a personal best of 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 1 second. This marked his debut at the full 26.2-mile distance. Almgren had previously built a career running half-marathons. He separated from Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy during the final mile. Crippa finished 13 seconds behind. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho placed third, finishing just ahead of defending champion Benson Kipruto.

The event has a long history. It began in 1970 with six years of running loops in Central Park. Organizers moved the race out of the park to help the struggling city and celebrate the U.S. bicentennial. The 2026 race was the 50th edition to cover all five boroughs. In 1976, just over 2,000 people competed, including only 88 women. On Sunday, approximately 60,000 runners started the race. Nearly half of them were women. Participants came from more than 140 countries.

In the women's race, Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya secured her second victory. She won the event in 2024 as well. Chepkirui pulled ahead of Hellen Obiri in the final 150 meters. She crossed the line in 2:24:36. American Jessica McClain finished second. She passed Obiri, a two-time winner, in the final strides. McClain was six seconds behind the leader. This result marked the first time a U.S. woman finished in the top three since 2018.

American Zouhair Talbi finished sixth in the men's race. He recorded the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in this event. Almgren's winning time was the third fastest in the course's 50-year history. The top seven finishers all placed among the top 10 all-time times. Almgren became the first runner to win the race in his debut since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won in 2010.

The course saw a minor change for the first time in 15 years. Runners took a different route at Mile 20 in the Bronx. This move reduced the number of turns in that borough from seven to five. The change aimed to ease street closures in the area.

In the wheelchair division, Marcel Hug won the men's race for the eighth time. He beat Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second. Romanchuk took the lead in the final mile as they entered Central Park. Hug passed him in the last 100 meters. Catherine Debrunner of Sweden won the women's wheelchair race. She finished in 1:40:02, the second-fastest time in race history. Susannah Scaroni finished third. She gave birth to her first child three months before the race.