By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Dutchman Abdi Nageeye survived a tense battle through the final mile to win the New York City Marathon in two hours seven minutes and 39 seconds on Sunday, while Sheila Chepkirui led a Kenyan sweep of the women’s podium in 2:24:35.
The 2022 champion Evans Chebet had victory within his reach until the final 400 metres, when Nageeye pulled away, and the Kenyan settled for second in 2:07:45, while his compatriot Albert Korir (2:08:00) was third.
“I was just thinking I’m dreaming,” said Nageeye, savouring the triumph even more after a disastrous Paris Olympics, where he collided with another runner and was unable to finish the race.
Chebet, one of the most decorated runners in the sport with a pair of Boston wins, looked firmly in control as he sprinted down the Queensboro Bridge to push the pace around the 16-mile mark, hoping to shake the densely packed lead group.
Nageeye chased him down quickly, however, and the two had ditched the rest of the field by the final mile, running shoulder-to-shoulder through the throngs of fans cheerly wildly along the course.
Chebet lost steam as they took the final turn into Central Park and Nageeye ran the final straight all by himself two years after settling for third on the podium.
On the women’s side, Chepkirui ran a technical, flawless race, hanging in with the lead pack from the start and denying defending champion Hellen Obiri in a gritty final mile to collect her first major title.
Obiri, who finished third at the Paris Olympics just 12 weeks ago, crossed the line 14 seconds later while 41-year-old Vivian Cheruiyot added more hardware for Kenya in 2:25:21.
Cheruiyot fell off the lead with a little more than a mile left and it was a two-woman battle for the finish line from there, as Chepkirui chipped away at Obiri bit by bit.
With 200 metres to go, it was clear the race was hers and she smiled after giving everything she had for the win.
“It means a lot to me — it means my training was good,” Chepkirui said. “It was really hard but I pushed myself to the limit.”
American Daniel Romanchuk (1:36.31) won his third title in the men’s wheelchair race, slipping around Britain’s David Weir in the last 400 metres before streaking to the finish.
Weir crossed the line five seconds later while Japan’s Tomoki Suzuki (1:36:44) was third.
American Susannah Scaroni was miles ahead of her competitors when she broke the tape in 1:48:05, obliterating the women’s wheelchair field.
Her compatriot Tatyana McFadden, a five-time winner in New York, finished more than 10 minutes slower and Swiss Manuela Schar was third in 1:59:20.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; editing by Clare Fallon)
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