KENYA DOMINATES NEW YORK MARATHON AS KIPRUTO AND OBIRI TAKE TOP HONOURS

By: Gyang Dakwo

Kenya ruled the streets of New York on Sunday, sweeping the men’s and women’s races at the New York City Marathon. Benson Kipruto won a thrilling sprint finish in two hours, eight minutes, and nine seconds, while Hellen Obiri claimed victory in the women’s race with a course record of two hours, nineteen minutes, and fifty-one seconds.

Kipruto gave everything he had in the final stretch, holding off a strong late charge from Alexander Mutiso. He crossed the line less than two-tenths of a second ahead in a photo finish, while the 2021 winner, Albert Korir, came in third with a time of two hours, eight minutes, and fifty-seven seconds.

“It was amazing. The last part was so hard,” Kipruto said in a television interview. “I was pushing very hard to make sure I win.”

It was Kipruto’s fourth major title. He and Mutiso were neck and neck at the twenty-five-mile mark, and he looked in control with two hundred metres left. But Mutiso made a brave late push, forcing Kipruto to speed up again as the crowd in Central Park cheered them on.

In the women’s race, Paris Olympic bronze medalist Hellen Obiri, who also won in 2023, ran side by side with Sharon Lokedi until the final turn. She then pulled away to win comfortably, finishing ahead of Lokedi, who clocked two hours, twenty minutes, and seven seconds. Last year’s winner, Sheila Chepkirui, finished third in two hours, twenty minutes, and twenty-four seconds.

“We had a very strong field,” Obiri said after the race. She also earned an extra fifty thousand dollars for breaking Margaret Okayo’s long-standing course record of two hours, twenty-two minutes, and thirty-one seconds. “I told myself to do my best and keep pushing,” she added.

Two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge, the only man to ever run a marathon in under two hours, finished seventeenth with a time of two hours, fourteen minutes, and thirty-six seconds.

There had been talk that this might be his last competitive marathon, but the forty-year-old announced instead that he will begin a two-year plan to run seven marathons across seven continents, which he called the “Eliud Kipchoge World Tour.”

The race brought the World Marathon Majors season to a close, although the sport has faced some recent controversy. Kenyan runner Ruth Chepngetich, the women’s world record holder, was banned for three years last month after admitting to breaking anti-doping rules.