Sunday’s New York City Marathon fields were loaded with Olympic medalists, world record holders and some of the most dominant major marathon winners in recent history.
But 26.2 miles later, the men’s and women’s race winners were none of those things.
First, Sheila Chepkirui took the tape in the women’s race with a thrilling last mile: Outkicking Hellen Obiri and slamming the door on Obiri’s legendary past two years. Chepkirui finished with a time of 2:24:35, a fulfillment of the promise she had flashed for years.
And while she was running away from Obiri, a similar tale unfolded in the men’s race, as Dutch star Abdi Nageeye stunned a loaded field to win his first major. The men’s field was expected to be all about Ethiopian star Tamirat Tola continuing his unprecedented 2024 run, but Nageeye hung in the shadows until it was his time to shine.
Your 2024 #TCSNYCMarathon Open Men’s division champion is Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands in an official time of 2:07:39. 🥇 pic.twitter.com/ySskoNtIap
— TCS New York City Marathon (@nycmarathon) November 3, 2024
Just months after he failed to finish the Olympic marathon in Paris, Nageeye not only completed the New York course Sunday but he got faster as he ran. With a negative split of 62:02 in Sunday’s second half,…
