Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui beat the odds to win the women's race at the New York City Marathon with a time of 2:24:35.
In what was a dominant performance on Sunday, November 3, Kenyans claimed the first three places as Chepkirui narrowly beat her countrywoman Hellen Obiri by mere seconds. Obiri ended the race in 2:24:49.
Veteran long-distance runner Vivian Cheruiyot impressively claimed third place with a time of 2:25:21.
Chepkirui's victory was a landmark win for her on a personal level as it came just two years since she started running marathons. Notably, this was her debut at the New York City marathon.
Despite finishing in a respectable second place Obiri will be gutted at the fact that she failed to defend her title as she was looking to become the first repeat champion since Mary Keitany.
There were early signs that the race was going to be a tough one for the Kenyan trio as Ethiopia's Senbere Teferi took an early lead in the first 20 kilometres.
Over time, however, the Kenyan trio's tactics were clear for all to see as they collectively bid their time and conserved energy when it mattered.
Only five ladies were in contention for first place at the 30 km mark, with the Kenyan trio eventually plugging away.
Towards the end of the race, it was clear it would be a clean Kenyan sweep as Chepkirui and Obiri were neck to neck, with the former taking advantage of a slight falter from Obiri, who won the same race last year.
Chepkirui's blazing final mile proved to be the difference as she upped her pace to run the mile in a blistering 4:59.
Following her victory, Chepkirui is set to take home a whopping KSH 12.9 million (USD 100,000), while Obiri will pocket KSh 7.74 million (USD 60,000) for her second-place finish. Vivian Cheruiyot will take home KSh 5.2 million (USD 40,000).
In the men's category, Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands won it in an official time of 2:07:39, just six seconds ahead of Kenyan runner Evans Chebet. Kenya's Albert Korir finished in third place.
The other Kenyan in the race - Geoffrey Kamworor - ended the race in fifth place.
