2024 TCS NYC Marathon: Abdi Nageeye, Sheila Chepkirui win men's and women's races
2024 TCS New York City Marathon featured more than 50,000 runners from over 150 countries
NEW YORK (WABC) -- On a crisp, beautiful Sunday morning, more than 50,000 runners from over 150 countries turned out for the TCS New York City marathon.
Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, won the men's professional race pulling away in the final mile. His time was 2:07:39.
Nageeye was step-for-step with 2022 champion Evans Chebet before using a burst heading into Central Park to come away with the win. Chebet finished 6 seconds behind.
"At the finish I was like, am I'm dreaming? I won New York," Nageeye said.
He had run the New York race three times before with his best finish coming in 2022, when he was third.
"I know the course," Nageeye said. "Today was two things: survive that race and my race is after 36 (kilometers; 22 miles). I was thinking like a cyclist, survive 36K and you're going to win."
Tamirat Tola, the men's defending champion and Paris Olympic gold medalist, finished fourth, right behind Albert Korir.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Abdi Nageeye
2. Evans Chebet
3. Albert Korir
4. Tamirat Tola
5. Geoffrey Kamworor
Professional Women's Race
Sheila Chepkirui won the professional women's race in a time of 2:24:35, finishing 15 seconds ahead of defending champ Hellen Obiri.
"It means my training has been good," Chepkirui siad. "I'm so happy."
It was Chepkirui's first time running the New York race after starting to run marathons in 2022. She finished the race in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 35 seconds. Obiri finished nearly 15 seconds behind.
Obiri was looking to be the first repeat champion since Mary Keitany of Kenya won three in a row from 2014-16. Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya finished third, giving the African nation the top three spots.
The top Americans finished sixth in both races. Conner Mantz led the men and Sara Vaughn the women. Vaughn was in the lead group heading into Mile 20 when they entered the Bronx before she dropped off the lead pack.
Vaughn was geared up to run Chicago before COVID-19 kept her from competing in that race. She was a late addition to this marathon.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Sheila Chepkirui
2. Hellen Obiri
3. Vivian Cheruiyot
4. Eunice Chumba
5. Fabienne Schlumpf
Men's Wheelchair Race
Daniel Romanchuk of the U.S. won the men's wheelchair race, finishing ahead of David Weir and Tomoki Suzuki.
Romanchuk finished in a time of 1:36:31.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland was trying to win the race for the four consecutive year and seventh time overall.
Hug had battled a cold before the race and fell behind in the second half.
The Swiss star, nicknamed the Silver Bullet, had won 16 straight marathons, including a gold medal at this year's Paris Paralympics. He also won the Chicago Marathon a few weeks ago.
The 38-year-old Hug was in the lead pack Sunday heading into Manhattan before falling off the pace. Romanchuk said a pothole on First Ave. caused some issues for some of the competitors.
It then became a three-man race between Romanchuk, David Weir and Tomoki Suzuki. The trio came into the last mile within a second of each other before Romanchuk, who also won this race in 2018 and 2019, pulled away to win in 1 hour, 36 minutes, 31 seconds.
"I know most of the other racers pretty well, really just try and completely empty the tank for the final mile," Romanchuk said. "It's amazing."
Weir, who was runner up in 2021 as well as winning the title in 2010, finished 5 seconds behind. Suzuki was third at 1:36.43.
Hug finished fourth, 3:38 behind the winner.
Women's Wheelchair Race
Susannah Scaroni of the U.S., who won the race in 2022, opened a huge lead in the opening miles and never looked back.
Her final time was 1:48:05, which was minutes ahead of her nearest competitor.
Scaroni beat another American, Tatyana McFadden, winning the race by more than 10 minutes in 1:48.05.
"Always so special to be here in New York City," Scaroni said. "I woke up feeling great today, never take it for granted. Coming up the last hill we had a tailwind today. So I had a little more energy then I normally do at that hill."
Scaroni set a course record when she won in 2022 and finished third a year ago.
It's the first time in the history of the race that both the men's and women's wheelchair events were won by Americans.
The NYC marathon has been held since 1970 and had more than 50,000 runners finish the race last year. The race is organized by the nonprofit New York Road Runners. Runners can get into the marathon a variety of ways, including a qualifying time, a lottery or charitable contributions.
The weather was perfect to run in with temperatures in the lower 40s when the race started. Last year, it was 61 degrees when the race started.
FIND YOUR FINISH: Look for your favorite runner as they cross the finish line at the TCS NYC Marathon
The 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) course takes runners through all five boroughs of New York, starting in Staten Island and ending in Central Park. This is the 48th year the race has been in all five boroughs.
Before that, the route was completely in Central Park when it began in 1970. The first race had only 55 finishers while more than 50,000 were expected to compete this year.
You can find a mile-by-mile tour of the course here.
ALSO WATCH | Raegan Medgie crosses the finish line at the TCS NYC Marathon
Some information from the Associated Press
Click here for more coverage of the 2024 TCS NYC Marathon.
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