New York Marathon: Sheila Chepkirui wins for a second time and Lesotho reaches the podium
Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui won the New York Marathon on Sunday, November 1, 2026, in 2:24:36, marking her second victory across the five boroughs in three years. In the men's race, Lesotho runner Kamohelo Mofolo took third place in 2:06:26, finishing ahead of a former winner of the event.
Chepkirui holds off Hellen Obiri
Already crowned in New York in 2024, Chepkirui pulled away from her compatriot and defending champion Hellen Obiri in the final two kilometers, according to Marathon Handbook. American Jessica McClain snatched second place in 2:24:42, six seconds behind the winner, while Obiri settled for bronze in 2:24:43. This is the first American women's podium finish in New York since Shalane Flanagan in 2018, according to the same source.
The Kenyan dominance did not stop there: Edna Kiplagat finished fourth in 2:25:42, Mercy Chelangat fifth in 2:25:46, and Viola Cheptoo ninth in 2:28:34. Five of the top ten women in the world's largest road race were therefore wearing the colors of Kenya.
Lesotho in the top three
The real surprise came from a country of fewer than three million inhabitants. Kamohelo Mofolo held on until the end to secure the third step of the podium in 2:06:26, finishing one second ahead of Kenyan Benson Kipruto, the 2025 winner, who placed fourth in 2:06:27. Another Kenyan, Geoffrey Kamworor, finished eighth in 2:07:09.
The victory went to Sweden's Andreas Almgren in 2:06:01, in his very first marathon. Italian Yemaneberhan Crippa completed the podium, finishing thirteen seconds later. According to u-Trail, ten runners were still in a pack at the 35-kilometer mark: Almgren made his decisive acceleration just over a kilometer from the finish, just as Kipruto had begun to lose ground.
Still provisional figures
Marathon Handbook notes that these times are unofficial and will be updated by the organizer, New York Road Runners. In the meantime, the observation remains: on the streets of New York, just as in Berlin, London, or Boston, East Africa continues to set the pace for the global marathon scene, and smaller nations, such as Lesotho, are now joining the ranks of the very best.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.
