NEW YORK (AP) — Kenya’s Evans Chebet and Sharon Lokedi made a big splash in their New York City Marathon debut on Sunday.
Since the marathon took place in November in 1986, temperatures in the ’70s have been among the hottest days in racing history.
Chebet finished in 2:08:41, 13 seconds ahead of second place Shura Kitata of Ethiopia.
In the men’s race, there was a terrifying moment when leading Daniel de Nascimento collapsed at mile 21.
The Brazilian ran a blistering 1:01.22 in the first half of the race, beating the course record pace by two minutes. He was leading by nearly two minutes in his first 15 miles, but started to slow down a bit.
De Nascimento collapsed just before returning to Manhattan and was immediately seen by a medical professional. A few miles ago, he had rested for his 20 seconds on the toilet and had stopped walking for a few minutes before collapsing.
Chebet saw Do Nascimento on the ground and said, “I’m sorry for him, but I had to keep racing.”
“He knew it was hot and humid and that[de Nascimento]was going at a fast pace,” Chebet said through an interpreter. I knew that”
Chebet, 33, broke away from the herd when he chased Do Nascimento across the bridge to Manhattan for the first time. After the fall of Do Nascimento, Chebet took the lead and was never threatened again.
Chebet won the Boston Marathon earlier this year.
“Boston was actually harder, and it prepared him for the win in New York, which he’s very grateful for.”
The victory continued the drought of American men in the race, as no runner from America has won since 2009.
This was Lokedi’s first marathon and she finished in 2:23.23. This slightly outperformed Israel’s Rona her Chemtai her Salpeter.
“You’re happy just to win, aren’t you?!” Lokedi said with a laugh. “I’m really excited and very happy to be here. The people there, the track, the cheering, everything was great. I can’t thank you enough.”
The 28-year-old raced hard until she beat Kemtai Salpeter by seven seconds in the final two miles and finished nearly 50 seconds off the course record.
“I didn’t expect to win, I thought it would work,” Rokedi said. “It was a good result and I’m really excited.”
An hour ago, the men’s and women’s wheelchair races ended with a new course record.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair race for the fifth time, joining Kurt Fernley for the most wins in the event. Hug finished his 26.2-mile course through all five boroughs of New York in 1:25.26, breaking his 1:29.22 record set by Fernley of Australia in 2006. I broke it.
“Conditions were great for us. Tailwind in the first half. Very good conditions. I think that’s why,” Hug said of the record-breaking speed. “I didn’t know the time. My goal was to run as fast as possible and I didn’t care about the time.”
Hug, who also won last year’s race, broke the course record for $50,000. He crossed the finish line more than two minutes ahead of his second-placed Daniel Romanchuk in Illinois.
Nicknamed the ‘Silver Bullet’, the 36-year-old Hug is on a considerable winning streak, including four gold medals at the Tokyo, Berlin, London and Chicago marathons in 2022, following last year’s Tokyo Paralympics. increase.
Susannah Scaroni also set a course record in the women’s wheelchair race, finishing in 1:42.43. This put her 21 seconds better than the old mark held by Tatiana McFadden.
Scaroni, a 31-year-old from Illinois, pulled off the field early to set a course record and earn a bonus. Scaroni won his marathon in Chicago last month and won in New York for the first time after his third-place finish in 2019.
The warm weather was not ideal for the 50,000 runners who started the 51st Marathon, returning to full capacity for the first time since the pandemic. Race organizers said the 26.2-mile race course had him nine mist stations, with plenty of water provided along the way, as well as bananas and energy gels.
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