Sheila Kepkirui on Sunday led Hellen Obiri and Vivian Cheruiyot in 1-2-3 finish for Kenya in the 2024 New York City Marathon.
Chepkirui has won her maiden World Marathon Major race, in two hours, 24 minutes and 35 seconds as Kenyan women staged a clean sweep of the podium.
Chepkirui, who had finished sixth in the London Marathon in April this year, outclassed defending champion Hellen Obiri in a sprint finish in the last two kilometres.
Obiri, who is also the winner of the 2023 and 2024 Boston Marathon, settled second in 2:24:49 as Vivian Cheruiyot, the 2018 London Marathon champion, came third in 2:25:21.
Chepkirui, 33, the silver medallist at the Berlin Marathon and fourth place finish in London last year, claimed the prize money of US$ 100,000 (Sh12.9m) as Obiri pocketed US$ 60,000 (Sh 7.74m) and Cheruiyot US$ 40,000 (Sh5.2m).
Obiri and the 2022 New York City Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi, who finished third last year, were in a pack of 14 athletes that hit the first five kilometres in 18:18 with home athlete Des Linden, the 2018 Boston Marathon champion, in the lead.
Kenya's Hellen Obiri crosses the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during the women's elite race during the New York City Marathon on November 3, 2024.
Photo credit: Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Also in the pack were Chepkirui, a silver medallist at last year’s Berlin Marathon and Vivian Cheruiyot, the 2018 London Marathon champion, who also claimed silver at the 2018 New York City Marathon.
It is Obiri, who led the pack through 10km in 35:24 and 15km in 52:37 dragging along Lokedi, Chepkirui, Cheruiyot, the 2023 Dubai Marathon champion Dere Dida from Ethiopia and the rest of the pack.
Ageless Edna Kiplagat, who has four World Marathon Major victories to her credit including the 2010 New York Marathon, and Ethiopia’s 2017 Chicago Marathon champion Tirunesh Dibaba, were part of the leading pack.
Also on the front line were Kenyan-born Eunice Chumba of Bahrain, Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi, and Americans Sarah Vaugh and Kellyn Taylor.
Chepkirui and American Dakotah Popehn led the pack of 21 athletes through the halfway mark in 1:13:59 with Obiri, Cheruiyot, Lokedi, Chumba and Kiplagat tucked inside.
Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui crosses the finish line to win the women's elite race during the New York City Marathon on November 3, 2024.
Photo credit: Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Seven athletes hit the 25km in 1:27:55; Chepkirui, Lokedi, Dida, Teferi, Obiri, Cheruiyot and Popehn as Kiplagat, Taylor, and Chuemba ran behind the pack. Dibaba drifted off the lead group.
The race was on pitting 10- athletes with 12 kilometres to go as the flight hit the 30km mark in 1:44:47 including Chepkirui, Obiri and Cheruiyot as Lokedi and Kiplagat drifted off the pack.
However, just after Obiri and Teferi led the pack through 32km in 1:52:16, Cheruiyot pulled away with 10km to go to lead by a margin of 10m. But not before long to be joined by a pool of four athletes- Obiri, Chepkirui, Teferi and Chumba.
Chepkirui hit the 35km mark in 2:1:23, just one second behind Obiri, Teferi, Cheruiyot and Chumba as the battle proved juicy and a thriller.
The heat and pace were too much for Teferi and Chumba, who fell off the pack as Cheruiyot, Chepkirui and Obiri teased each other with a thrilling exchange of leads.
The race was now between Obiri, eying her fourth World Marathon Major (WMM) victory and Chepkirui, looking for her first WMM, as they went into the last two kilometres shoulder-to-shoulder, hitting the 40km mark in 2:19:36 as Cheruiyot drifted back five seconds.
