Korir wins NYC Marathon 2 years after 2. – The Denver Post

By JAKE SEINER

NEW YORK (AP) – Kenya’s Albert Korir won the New York City Marathon men’s race on Sunday, two years after finishing second.

Korir overtook Morocco’s Mohamed El Aaraby and Italy’s Eyob Faniel around the 18th mile and quickly took the drama out of the race’s 50th run. He won in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 22 seconds.

In the women’s race, Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya pulled away at the entrance to Central Park and became the first woman to win a marathon major this fall after winning an Olympic gold medal.

The second oldest of the world marathon majors returned Sunday after canceling in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The field was cut by about 40% to about 30,000 runners, and efforts were made to maintain the distance between competitors near the start and finish lines.

It was Korir’s first victory in one of the World Marathon Majors and his first time at the top of a podium since winning the Ottawa Race Weekend Marathon in 2019.

The 27-year-old Korir finished second behind Geoffrey Kamworor in 2019 by 23 seconds.

Korir and other Kenyan Kibwott Kandie were side by side as they passed El Aaraby and Faniel, but Kandie – the world record holder in the half marathon – dropped out in his marathon debut.

El Aaraby held on to an unlikely second place after finishing 11th at the Tokyo Olympics. Faniel finished third.

Jepchirchir broke away from countrywoman Viola Cheptoo and Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh in the final kilometer of the race, after the trio ran side by side from the Bronx back down through Manhattan.

Jepchirchir, 28, took gold at the Tokyo Olympic marathon in August and came back on a short recovery to win a race once dominated by his hero Mary Keitany, a four-time winner in New York who recently retired from the sport.

Jepchirchir’s unofficial time on Sunday was 2 hours, 22 minutes, 39 seconds.

Cheptoo finished second in his marathon debut and quickly found his brother, Bernard Lagat, who aired the race on ESPN. Yeshaneh finished third.

Molly Seidel finished fourth in her first race since taking bronze in Tokyo, becoming the first American woman since Deena Kastor in 2004 to win an Olympic medal.

Marcel Hug from Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair race for the fourth time and finished more than 6 1/2 minutes ahead of the next racer for his first title since 2017. The 35-year-old, born with spina bifida, added another prize to a remarkable year , which included four gold medals at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, including in marathons. He also won the Boston Marathon last month.

Australia’s Madison de Rozario won the women’s wheelchair race and held former champions Tatyana McFadden and Manuela Schär for her first Big Apple victory. The 27-year-old, who developed transverse myelitis when she was 4, also took gold at this year’s Tokyo Paralympic Marathon.

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