NEW YORK: Dutchman Abdi Nageeye survived a tense battle through the final mile to win the New York City Marathon in two hours seven minutes and 39 seconds on Sunday, while Sheila Chepkirui led a Kenyan sweep of the women’s podium in 2:24:35.

The 2022 champion Evans Chebet had victory within his reach until the final 400 metres, when Nageeye pulled away, and the Kenyan settled for second in 2:07:45, while his compatriot Albert Korir (2:08:00) was third.

“I was just thinking I’m dreaming,” said Nageeye, savouring the triumph even more after a disappointing outing at the Paris Olympics, where he collided with another runner and was unable to finish the race.

Chebet, one of the most decorated runners in the sport with a pair of Boston wins, looked firmly in control as he sprinted down the Queensboro Bridge to push the pace around the 16-mile mark, hoping to shake the densely packed lead group.

Nageeye chased him down quickly, however, and the two had ditched the rest of the field by the final mile, running shoulder-to-shoulder through the throngs of fans cheering wildly along the course.

Chebet lost steam as they took the final turn into Central Park and Nageeye ran the final straight all by himself two years after settling for third on the podium.

On the women’s side, Chepkirui ran a technical, flawless race, hanging in with the lead pack from the start and denying defending champion Hellen Obiri in a gritty final mile to collect her first major title.

Obiri, who finished third at the Paris Games just 12 weeks ago, cro­ssed the line 14 seconds later while 41-year-old Vivian Cheruiyot added more hardware for Kenya in 2:25:21.

It was the first time since 1976 that three women from a single country had swept a podium in the five boroughs.

Cheruiyot fell off the lead with a little more than a mile left and it was a two-woman battle for the finish line from there, as Chepkirui chipped away at Obiri bit by bit.

“I knew Hellen was strong,” said Chepkirui. “When we were around 600 metres to go, I say to myself ‘I have to push harder’.”

Obiri, famed for her lethal final kick after picking up her second straight win in Boston earlier this year, could not hang on this time and with 200 metres to go it was clear the race belonged to Chepkirui.

“It means a lot to me — it means my training was good,” Chepkirui said. “It was really hard but I pushed myself to the limit.”

American Daniel Roma­nchuk (1:36.31) won his third title in the men’s wheelchair race, slipping around Britain’s David Weir in the last 400 metres before streaking to the finish.

Weir crossed the line five seconds later while Japan’s Tomoki Suzuki (1:36:44) was third.

American Susannah Scaroni was miles ahead of her competitors when she broke the tape in 1:48:05, obliterating the womens wheelchair field.

Her compatriot Tatyana McFadden, a five-time winner in New York, finished more than 10 minutes slower and Swiss Manuela Schar was third in 1:59:20.

Later on Sunday, World Marathon Majors organisers announced that the Sydney Marathon would become the seventh in the elite series, beginning next year, making it the first race added since Tokyo in 2013.

The long-established majors, which include London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York, introduced the candidacy programme for races in 2017 in a bid to improve their geographic diversity, with the goal of bringing the total to nine.

The Sydney Marathon has seen rapid growth over the last two decades, going from 2,300 finishers in 2005 to 25,000 entrants for the most recent edition in September.

“We’re just so proud and honoured to be standing here, joining the six greatest marathons in the world,” race director Wayne Larden told reporters in New York.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2024