Almgren wins New York Marathon on debut

Andreas Almgren won the men's race at the New York Marathon in New York on 1 November 2026, securing victory on his marathon debut. He completed the course in two hours, six minutes and one second.

The 31-year-old Swede had broken the European half-marathon record in September and had already taken 10,000m gold at the European Athletics Championships in August, which represented his first international athletics title this year. Those performances had raised expectations for his first attempt at the 26.2-mile distance.

Almgren finished 13 seconds clear of Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa, with Lesotho's Kamohelo Mofolo arriving a further 12 seconds back in third. Almgren became the first European-born man in 30 years to win the race in New York, following Italy's Giacomo Leone in 1996.

Reflecting on the victory, Almgren said: "I just thought, 'I've got the legs today'," and added, "I'm about to start crying. It's better than anything I could have ever imagined."

In the women's race, Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui recorded her second New York Marathon win, finishing in 2:24:36, six seconds ahead of American Jessica McClain and with Kenya's Hellen Obiri a further second back. Chepkirui said: "The last mile was really tricky and I had to be patient because I knew Hellen was really strong," and added, "I had to really push up to the finish line."

The race marked the 50th anniversary of the marathon. The course links New York's five boroughs of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan.