Wrapped in a Swedish flag in Central Park, Andreas Almgren crossed the New York City Marathon finish line a debutant and a winner. The 31-year-old finished 26.2 miles in 2:06:01, defeating Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa by 13 seconds on a sunny Sunday in New York, with Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho third in 2:06:26.

“I mean, you can’t ask for a better debut,” Almgren said at the finish, told ESPN.

No Swede had ever won the race before, and no European-born man had taken New York since 1996. Almgren is also the first man to win it on debut since Gebre Gebremariam in 2010.

A 4:30 final mile breaks Crippa

The decisive move came late. With just over half a mile to go, Almgren opened a gap on Crippa and still had enough left in Central Park to turn to the crowd before the tape. The closing split was 4:30 for the last mile, delivering a time that would have been quick on any course and was especially fast on New York’s hilly layout.

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Benson Kipruto, the defending champion, ran outside the top three, finishing fourth. The result pushed Kipruto behind a man who had never previously raced a marathon at all.

From Copenhagen to New York in six weeks

Almgren arrived in New York as the newly minted world half-marathon champion. He won the title in Copenhagen on 20 September 2026, setting a European record in the process. The jump from a 21.1 km world title to a 42.2 km win in a World Marathon Major, in the space of six weeks, is the kind of transition elite coaches typically warn against.

He did it anyway.

Six seconds between Chepkirui and McClain

The women’s race came down to the final stretch. Sheila Chepkirui crossed in 2:24:36 for her second New York title in three years, with American Jess McClain second in 2:24:42 and defending champion Hellen Obiri of Kenya third in 2:24:43, the two trailing medallists separated by a single second.

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McClain’s runner-up finish ended an eight-year drought for American women on the New York podium, the first since Shalane Flanagan’s third place in 2018.

“It was a crappy thing to have to step away (from competitive running) honestly, but sometimes it’s OK to take a breather and take a beat,” McClain told broadcasters after the race.

“(I) realized that competitive nature was still buried deep, deep, deep down.”

Hug makes it eight

Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race in 1:28:14, one second clear of American Daniel Romanchuk. It was his eighth New York title. His compatriot Catherine Debrunner won the women’s wheelchair race in 1:40:02, ahead of Tatyana McFadden in 1:48:28.

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The race, the 55th edition and the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course, drew around 60,000 finishers and closed out the 2026 World Marathon Majors calendar.

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