Sheila Chepkirui wins women's race in NYC Marathon, Andreas Almgren makes men's race winning debut

NEW YORK CITY -- Thousands of runners made their way through all five boroughs on Sunday as the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon brought crowds, cheers and celebrations to New York City.

Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the men's race in his debut in the event while Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women's race on Sunday for the second time.

Almgren was making his debut at 26.2 miles after a successful career running half-marathons. He pulled away from Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy in the final mile to take the victory in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second. Crippa finished 13 seconds behind. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho was third, edging out defending champion Benson Kipruto.

Almgren's time was the third fastest in the course's 50-year history, and the top seven finishers all were among the top 10 all-time times. He became the first marathoner to win his debut in the event since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won the 2010 race.

American Zouhair Talbi finished sixth and ran the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in the event.

Chepkirui, who also won the race in 2024, pulled away from countrymate Hellen Obiri in the final 150 meters to seal the victory in 2:24:36. American Jessica McClain finished second, passing Obiri — a two-time winner — in the final few strides. It was the first time a U.S. woman finished in the top three since 2018. McClain was 6 seconds behind Chepkirui.

It was the 50th time that the race has run through all five boroughs of the city. There were just over 2,000 competitors in 1976, the seventh running of the race, including only 88 women. About 60,000 runners stepped up to the starting line Sunday, with nearly half of them women.

"I think the marathon is one of the best days in New York City, you see the humanity, everyone accomplishing these amazing goals and dreams," said Jesse Hammerman of Staten Island.

There were runners from more than 140 countries competing Sunday, including defending men's Kipruto. He won in thrilling fashion last year, edging Alexander Mutiso by three-hundredths of a second.

Among the runners were WABC anchors Liz Cho and Mike Marza, who participated in the marathon while raising money for the Alzheimer's Association in honor of Bill Ritter, who stepped away from the anchor desk in June after revealing his Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.

They honored their colleague throughout the race and shared an emotional reunion with him after crossing the finish line in Central Park.

"I feel overwhelmed, it was the most spectacular experience," Cho said.

"Thank you for this," Ritter said.

More than $100 million was raised for various charities through this year's New York City Marathon.

"I'm just so happy I love you and we were able to do this and raise funds for the Alzheimer's Association," Cho said.

The New York City Marathon began in 1970, and the first six years it was run entirely inside Central Park, with runners doing loops. The race was moved out of Central Park in celebration of the U.S. bicentennial and to help uplift the city, which was struggling. It ended up turning into one of the marquee events in New York.

Course tweak
For the first time in 15 years, there was a minor change in the course. The runners took a slightly different route at Mile 20 when the race entered the Bronx. The move was made to reduce the number of turns in the borough from seven to five and ease some of the street closures in the area.

Eight-time winner
Marcel Hug won the men's wheelchair race for the eighth time, edging Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second. Romanchuk made a move to take over the lead in the last mile as the pair entered Central Park for the final time. Hug passed him in the final 100 meters to win.

Hug's Swedish countrymate Catherine Debrunner pulled away from the field early to win the women's wheelchair race, finishing in 1:40:02. It was the second-fastest time in race history, trailing her own mark by about 30 seconds from 2023. Two-time defending champion Susannah Scaroni finished third, three months after giving birth to her first child, more than eight minutes behind Debrunner.