Two former winners battled for victory in the iconic classic through the streets of New York in the final kilometers. Kenyan Hellen Obiri, who also won New York in 2023, ran to victory for the second time and improved the 22-year-old course record to 2.19.51. She beat the 2.22.31 from 2003 by the Kenyan Margaret Okayo.
Hassan was cautious about her chances in advance, even though she had by far the best personal record of the field with 2.13.44. But Hassan now has experience with the distance and knows that the 42.195 kilometers affects the body differently every time. Moreover, she did not know the course in New York and it was already her third marathon of the year. In April she came third in London, and at the end of August she won in Sydney.
Heavier than expected
She didn’t like that Australian exercise two months ago, she said in the run-up to New York. The course was much tougher than expected and Hassan needed a long time to recover.
The Dutch woman, who has already won the major marathons in London, Chicago and Sydney, hid at the back of the leading group after the start on Staten Island and she would not be in the lead. After a first acceleration after 15 kilometers, Hassan already had difficulty with the pace and at Queensboro Bridge after 25 kilometers she had to let go.
She caught up again after 30 kilometers, but that revival was short-lived. After another increase in pace from the Kenyan trio Obiri, Sharon Lokedi and Sheila Chepkirui, Hassan collapsed and quickly fell far behind. She even had to tolerate the American athletes Fiona O’Keeffe and Annie Frisbie.
Defending champion Nageeye drops out in New York marathon
Abdi Nageeye did not finish the New York Marathon. The defending champion dropped away from the leaders fairly early in the race and decided to stop the battle around the 30 kilometer mark.
The 36-year-old Dutch top runner wrote athletics history last year by being the first Dutchman to win the iconic running classic in the American metropolis. He then released his fellow Kenyan escapee Evans Chebet in the last kilometer and crossed the finish line solo in Central Park.
This time Nageeye did not play a significant role. With the first big acceleration at the front he had to let go and fell behind.
Nageeye also won the Rotterdam marathon twice in his career. In 2021 he surprised with silver at the Tokyo Olympic Games. He holds the Dutch record for the 42.195 kilometers with 2.04.20.
Kenyan Kipruto wins after bizarre photo finish
Kenyan Benson Kipruto has won the New York Marathon by minimal margin. He ran through the finish line after 42.195 kilometers together with his compatriot Alexander Mutiso. The photo finish showed that he was 0.16 seconds faster. Both athletes achieved a time of 2:08:09.
For Kipruto it was already his fourth victory in a major marathon. He also won in Tokyo (2024), Chicago (2022) and Boston (2021). He won bronze at the Paris Olympics.
Kipruto and Mutiso were clearly the strongest runners in the race, which ignited after 25 kilometers. The large leading group gradually thinned out and the two Kenyans remained at the front. Kipruto seemed to be running away from Mutiso in the final meters, but he squeezed out a final sprint in which he just fell short.
Kenyan running legend Eliud Kipchoge only finished seventeenth in 2.14.36.