Peres Jepchirchir, an Olympic champion, won the 50th New York City Marathon on Sunday, surviving a thrilling three-way battle before sprinting to the finish line and fellow Kenyan Albert Korir won the men’s race.
Jepchirchir became the first athlete to win Olympic gold and the prestigious five-borough race in the same year, crossing the finish line in two hours, 22 minutes and 39 seconds, ahead of compatriot Viola Cheptoo and Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh.
Molly Seidel of the United States, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, finished fourth and revealed after the race that she had broken two ribs a month prior and had considered withdrawing.
Korir, who came in second last year, was 52 seconds behind the leaders at the halfway point but had built a 17-second lead by the 35-kilometer mark.
In Central Park, he jumped into the air as he broke the tape in 2:08:22, with Moroccan Mohamed El Aaraby finishing 44 seconds behind him and Italian Eyob Faniel third.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair division for the fourth time in 1:31:24, and Madison de Rozario of Australia became the first Australian to win the women’s wheelchair race in 1:51:01.
The race took place 13 weeks after the Tokyo Olympics and capped a tumultuous year for the marathon majors, which saw London and Boston rescheduled from April to October due to the pandemic.
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