Almgren wins in New York on marathon debut

Andreas Almgren, the 31-year-old Swedish marathon runner, achieved a remarkable victory in the New York Marathon on his first attempt at the grueling 26.2-mile race. Breaking the European half-marathon record in September and winning the 10,000m gold at the European Athletics Championships in August, Almgren fulfilled the expectations surrounding his marathon debut by crossing the finish line in an impressive 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 1 second.

This time was 13 seconds faster than Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa, who claimed the second place. In a historic triumph, Almgren marked the first win for a European-born man in 30 years, following Italy's Giacomo Leone's victory in 1996. Expressing his elation at his achievement, Almgren remarked, "I just thought, I've got the legs today. I'm about to start crying. It's better than anything I could have ever imagined."

In the women's race, Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui secured her second New York Marathon win, finishing 2:24:36, six seconds ahead of American Jessica McClain. With the 50th anniversary of the marathon linking New York's five boroughs, Chepkirui recalled the challenging final mile, where she had to be patient, knowing her competitor Hellen Obiri was strong. She stated, "I had to really push up to the finish line."