Almgren claims first NYC Marathon title in 2:06:01

Andreas Almgren of Sweden crossed the finish line first in the 2026 New York City Marathon on Sunday, recording a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second. The 26-year-old claimed his first win in the event during his debut appearance, a milestone not achieved since Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won the race in 2010.

Almgren separated from the lead pack in the final mile, outpacing Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy. Crippa finished 13 seconds behind Almgren, while Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho took third place, narrowly beating the defending champion, Benson Kipruto. Almgren’s result stands as the third fastest time in the 50-year history of the course. The top seven finishers all posted times that rank among the ten fastest all-time.

In the women’s race, Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya secured her second title. She overtook Hellen Obiri in the final 150 meters to finish in 2:24:36. Jessica McClain of the United States finished second, passing Obiri in the closing strides. McClain’s performance marked the first time a U.S. woman placed in the top three since 2018, finishing six seconds behind the winner.

Zouhair Talbi of the United States finished sixth in the men’s race. He set a new record for the fastest time by a U.S. runner in the history of the event. The race marked the 50th time competitors ran through all five boroughs of New York City. Organizers reported that just over 2,000 runners participated in 1976, including only 88 women. Sunday’s field included approximately 60,000 participants, with nearly half of them being women.

Runners from more than 140 countries took part in the competition. The course saw a minor adjustment at Mile 20 in the Bronx, a change not made in 15 years. The new route reduced the number of turns in that section from seven to five to ease street closures. Kipruto, who won last year by a margin of three hundredths of a second, competed in this year’s field as the defending champion.

Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race for the eighth time. He defeated Daniel Romanchuk by just over a second after passing him in the final 100 meters inside Central Park. Catherine Debrunner of Sweden won the women’s wheelchair race with a time of 1:40:02. This marked the second fastest time in the race’s history, trailing her own record from 2023 by about 30 seconds. Susannah Scaroni finished third in the women’s wheelchair event, more than eight minutes behind Debrunner, three months after giving birth to her first child.

The New York City Marathon began in 1970. For its first six years, the race was held entirely within Central Park using loop routes. The event moved out of the park to help uplift the city during a period of financial struggle and to celebrate the U.S. bicentennial.