In a thrilling sprint finish, Kenyan Benson Kipruto won the men’s pro race at the 2025 New York City Marathon over countryman Alexander Mutiso. The two men crossed simultaneously in 2:08:09—both raised their arms to break the tape—and after a moment, Kipruto was declared the winner by a fraction of a second, walking away with the top prize of $100,000. Mutiso will take home $60,000. Albert Korir, also of Kenya, wraps up the podium, finishing third in 2:08:57; he earned $40,000 for his run on Sunday.

This is Kipruto’s fourth World Marathon Major victory, having won the 2021 Boston Marathon, 2022 Chicago Marathon and 2024 Tokyo Marathon. All three of the top men are sponsored by Adidas.

“[The race] was amazing,” Kipruto said to Lewis Johnson on the ESPN broadcast after the race. “I was giving myself a moral [boost, saying], ‘c’mon, you can win!’ I was pushing so hard to make sure I won.”

The women’s pro race saw a similarly exciting finish. With a surge in the final half-mile of the race, Kenyan Hellen Obiri crossed the line first in 2:19:51, smashing the 22-year-old course record of 2:22:31 by more than two minutes. Obiri, who won NYCM in 2023 and finished second in 2024, outlasted countrywoman Sharon Lokedi, the 2022 NYCM champion. Sheila Chepkirui, the 2024 NYCM champion, wrapped up the Kenyan podium sweep of the women’s pro race. 

Obiri, who is sponsored by On Running and trains in Boulder, Colo., with the On Athletics Club, will take home $100,000 for her win, plus a bonus $50,000 for the course record. Lokedi, sponsored by Under Armour, earns $60,000 for second, and Chepkirui, running for Adidas, gets $40,000.

“When we went into Central Park, and it was the three of us … [I was thinking to myself] be patient,” Obiri said on the ESPN broadcast after the race. “I knew like [Lokedi] was there, she’s always there. All of them have won before, so I was thinking, ‘Can I be the first one to win a second time?’ … I tried to think, ‘I’m the best, let me try to push.’”

American Fiona O’Keeffe, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials winner, finished fourth in 2:22:49, becoming the fastest American woman to ever run the NYCM course. She kept pace with the top three finishers through 20 miles, with the group of four running down 1st Ave in Manhattan shoulder to shoulder, before falling off around the 20-mile mark. O’Keeffe, sponsored by Puma, will take home $25,000 for her finish, plus an additional $25,000 as the top American. 

Joel Reichow and Charles Hicks were the top Americans in the men’s race, finishing in 2:09:56 and 2:09:59, good for sixth and seventh. They will earn $10,000 and $7,500, respectively, for their top-10 overall finishes, plus $25,000 and $15,000 for being the top two Americans.

In total, the New York City Marathon doles out $969,000 in prize money, including $534,000 total to the men’s and women’s top-10 finishers, and $118,000 total to the top-five American finishers. Also, NYCM hands out an additional $50,000 to any athletes who break existing course records. With Obiri’s women’s record this year, NYCM awarded more than $1 million in prize money this year.

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, the 40-year-old 11-time world major marathon winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was with the lead pack coming off the Queensboro bridge at around the 17-mile mark before falling off slightly. He finished his first NYC Marathon—marking his completion of all seven World Marathon Majors—in 2:14:36, good enough for 17th.

The wheelchair races saw repeat winners from the Chicago Marathon three weeks ago. Switzerland’s Marcel Hug crossed the line in the pro men’s wheelchair race in 1:30:16, for his record seventh NYC Marathon win. American Susannah Scaroni won her second straight, and third overall, NYCM in 1:42:10. Both will take home $50,000 for their wins.

“It’s so overwhelming to win here in New York, it’s so meaningful to me,” Hug said to Lewis Johnson on the ESPN broadcast post-race. “I won the race, but it was not [as] easy as it looked like [because] I had some issue with my back strap. I lost seconds, maybe minutes, but who cares, I won the race.”

Hug beat his closest competitor, Great Britain’s David Weir, by nearly four minutes. In the women’s wheelchair race, American Tatyana McFadden finished in second in 1:47:54. Both will get $25,000 for second.

Third through sixth-place wheelchair finishers also take home part of a total of $250,000 for men’s and women’s wheelchair racers. 

Hug and Scaroni locked up the Abbott World Marathon Majors elite series title with their victories. Throughout the year, racers receive points for a top-five finish in the seven AWMM races (Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, New York). The athletes with the most points at the end of the cycle receive a prize bonus.