Follow-up: Sheila Chepkirui Wins NYC Marathon Women's Race in 2:24:36 for Her Second Title
The women's open race at the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon was decided on Sunday, November 1, in New York City: Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui crossed the Central Park finish line in Manhattan in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 36 seconds to win her second New York City Marathon title. American Jessica McClain finished second in 2:24:42, just 6.19 seconds behind, and defending champion Hellen Obiri of Kenya was third in 2:24:43, with only seven seconds covering the top three.
The women's race stayed bunched for most of its 26.2 miles. Ten runners were within two seconds at halfway, and six women passed 35K together in 2:01:15. At 40K, Chepkirui and Obiri were tied in 2:17:39, with McClain third, 3.38 seconds back. Over the final 2.2 kilometers through Central Park, Chepkirui pulled away to win, with McClain and Obiri finishing a second apart behind her.
Chepkirui first won New York in 2024 and placed third in 2025 before reclaiming the title this year. Obiri, the 2023 champion, holds the women's course record of 2:19:51 and finished third this time. McClain's runner-up finish is among the best recent results by an American woman in the race's open division. The open-division champion's prize is $100,000.
This year's race marked the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course, with about 60,000 runners taking part. The route starts at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, crosses the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn, and passes through Queens and the Bronx before returning to Manhattan to finish on West Drive in Central Park near 67th Street.
GSM reported the wheelchair results earlier in the morning: Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner won the men's and women's wheelchair races. The men's open race finished later; GSM will publish a follow-up once the official results are confirmed.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纽约市马拉松选手跑过 Brooklyn 赛道（资料图，2025年赛事画面，非本届现场）。照片：Wil540 art，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Runners on the Brooklyn leg of the New York City Marathon (file photo from the 2025 race, not this year's event). Photo by Wil540 art, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-31New York City Marathon Runs November 1: Nearly 60,000 Runners, 50 Years of the Five-Borough Course
- 2026-11-01Follow-up: NYC Marathon Wheelchair Champions Decided: Hug Wins Eighth Title by One Second, Debrunner Dominates
- 2026-11-01Follow-up: Sheila Chepkirui Wins NYC Marathon Women's Race in 2:24:36 for Her Second TitleThis story
- 2026-11-01Follow-up: Andreas Almgren Wins NYC Marathon Men's Race in 2:06:01 in His Marathon Debut
