By DOUG FEINBERG<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women\u2019s race of the New York City Marathon for the second time in three years on Sunday while Andreas Almgren of Sweden was victorious in his debut<\/a> in the distance.<\/p>\n Chepkirui pulled away from defending champion Hellen Obiri in the final 150 meters to seal the victory in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 36.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last mile was really tricky,\u201d said Chepkirui, who also won in 2024. \u201cI had to be patient because I knew Hellen was really strong, so I had to really push up to the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n What Chepkirui didn\u2019t know was that American Jessica McClain had been gaining on both of the Kenyans in the final 800 meters of the race. McClain finished 6 seconds behind Chepkirui after passing Obiri \u2014 a two-time winner who set the course record in 2025 \u2014 in the final few strides. It was the first time a U.S. woman finished in the top three since 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a really fun, magical day out there. New York, you never know what to expect and I honestly didn\u2019t feel like amazing through (Mile) 18, and just kind of had to stick in it and adjust as I went,\u201d McClain said. \u201cTop five was top of mind, then podium. I was just like, stick with it. And then all of a sudden Hellen was coming back to me, so I don\u2019t really know what happened, but I couldn\u2019t be happier right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Almgren was making his debut<\/a> 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 2:6.1.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my first marathon. I didn\u2019t know how I was supposed to feel,\u201d said Almgren.<\/p>\n Crippa finished 13 seconds behind Almgren. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho was third, edging out defending champion Benson Kipruto.<\/p>\n Almgren\u2019s time was the third fastest in the course\u2019s 50-year history, and six runners went under 2:07 to finish in the top 10 all-time times.<\/p>\n \u201cI just tried to stay up at front and see what happened and see how the race developed,\u201d Almgren said. \u201cI didn\u2019t think it was going to be that quick of a finish, but I didn\u2019t really know anything about that. One of the reasons I choose to race New York is that you don\u2019t care about the time but just get as good a position as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 on Sunday and ran the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in the event.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n