More than a month after the world records of the Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago (Illinois) – 2 h 0 min 35 s – and the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa in Berlin – 2 h 11 min 53 s –, the last major marathon of the year took place in New York (New York), in an electric atmosphere. Unsurprisingly, the two world records did not shake on Sunday November 5, the hilly course being in fact not conducive to fast races. The elite field nonetheless remained strong: sixteen Olympic athletes and eleven world medalists were at the start of the race.
Among the men, it was the Ethiopian Tamirat Tola who won alone, establishing a new record for the New York event, in 2 h 4 min 58 s. With this leading performance, he erases the mark of the Kenyan Geoffrey Mutaï (2 h 5 min 6 s), which dates back to 2011.
World champion in Eugene (Oregon) in 2022 and third in the London marathon this season, the 32-year-old athlete won his first medal in the Big Apple, after failing to finish fourth in 2018 and 2019. He is ahead of 2 min the Kenyan Albert Korir and his compatriot Shura Kitata, 3e.
“It’s an incredible marathon, I couldn’t have dreamed of anything better. I gave up this summer during the World Championships in Budapest [à un kilomètre de l’arrivée] due to problems. And there, I find pleasure again”said the winner upon arrival.
Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir withdraws
Among the women, Kenyan Hellen Obiri won the New York marathon in the sprint. After a relatively slow start to the race, she showed off her qualities as a track rider to gain the best in a contested final, with three competitors. She is 5 seconds ahead of the Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey and her compatriot Sharon Lokedi.
Already winner this year of the Boston Marathon (Massachusetts), the double world champion in the 5,000 m completed the legendary distance of 42.195 kilometers in 2 h 27 min 23 s. Note that Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, Olympic champion in Tokyo, was absent from the race after withdrawing on Saturday due to leg pain.
In all, nearly 50,000 runners took part in the most famous marathon in the world. This edition, however, took place under high security, due to the war between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas in Gaza. On Wednesday, the New York police announced their “growing concerns”. However, no action interrupted this meeting, which remains as popular as ever.