Almgren Wins 2026 New York City Marathon

Sweden's Andreas Almgren claimed the men's title in his marathon debut, while Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui won the women's race in Central Park.

Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Running

Almgren Wins 2026 New York City Marathon

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Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the 2026 New York City Marathon in 2:06:01, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Yemaneberhan Crippa. Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women's race in 2:24:36, six seconds ahead of Jess McClain.

Why it matters

Almgren is the first European male winner of the New York City Marathon in 30 years, and McClain's second-place finish marks the first U.S. female or male podium in the race since 2018, a result that matters to local and national running fans alike.

Almgren's 2:06:01 finish came 13 seconds ahead of Crippa, while Chepkirui's 2:24:36 finish was six seconds ahead of McClain. McClain finished 41 hundredths of a second ahead of Hellen Obiri, a margin that was decided in the final strides.

The players

Andreas Almgren

Almgren is a Swedish runner who won the 2025 World 10,000m bronze medal and claimed the New York City Marathon in his marathon debut.

Sheila Chepkirui

Chepkirui is a Kenyan marathoner who won her second New York City Marathon title in three years.

Jess McClain

McClain is an American distance runner whose second-place finish is the first U.S. podium in New York City since 2018.

The details

Jess McClain overtook Hellen Obiri in the final strides of the race to take the women's podium spot. Sifan Hassan and Fiona O'Keeffe withdrew three weeks before the race, Hassan due to sickness and O'Keeffe due to left hamstring surgery.

2026-11-01
The 2026 New York City Marathon was held and results were reported.
2025: Almgren won the World 10,000m bronze medal.
2018: Shalane Flanagan last produced a U.S. podium finish in New York City.
2026-12-06
The Valencia Marathon in Spain is scheduled and traditionally produces fast times.

Roadmap

McClain's podium finish ends a U.S. drought in the New York City Marathon that began after Shalane Flanagan's 2018 result. Almgren's win as a European male champion also marks a rare result for the race, the first European male winner in 30 years.

McClain's second-place finish and the U.S. podium result are the most notable outcomes for fantasy and results tracking, since they break a multi-year absence of American athletes from the New York City podium. Runners planning to compete in the Valencia Marathon on December 6 can use this race's results as a reference point for pacing expectations.

The takeaway

Results from this year's race show that margins of seconds separated the top finishers, a reminder that pacing and final-stretch execution decided the podium. Runners preparing for fall races can take note of how close these finishes were.