By james art 
Abdi Nageeye, 35, of the Netherlands, won the men’s race at the New York City Marathon on Sunday in 2:07:39. It was his fourth appearance in the Big Apple and his first win in the event.
In previous years, he placed fifth in 2:11:39 in 2021; third in 2:10:31 in 2022; and fourth with 2:10:21 in 2023.
“In the final I thought, am I dreaming? I won New York,” Nagy told The Associated Press. Kenya’s Evans Chebet, who won in 2022, finished second six seconds later.
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Meanwhile, in her New York marathon debut, Sheila Chepkirui, 33, of Kenya, finished first in the women’s race. She reached the final in 2:24.35. Her nearest rival and defending champion Helen Obiri was nearly 15 seconds behind.
“When we had about 600 meters to go, I said to myself: I have to push harder. When I saw that Helen wasn’t coming, I knew I was going to win and I was so happy,” Chepkirui told the AP.
Daniel Romanczuk and Susanna Scaroni – both from the US – won the men’s and women’s wheelchair divisions, respectively. Romanchuk, 26, of Maryland, finished in 1:36:31, while Scaroni, 33, of Washington state, secured the women’s top spot in 1:48:05.
Other top Americans in the marathon were Connor Mantz and Sarah Vonn, both of whom finished sixth in the men’s and women’s races, respectively.
Some celebrities also took part in the race, including actor Randall Park from Just off the boat; actress jennifer connelly from Top Gun: Maverick and a YouTube star Casey Neistat.
The 26.2-mile race covered all five boroughs — starting in Staten Island and ending in Central Park. This year it attracted an estimated 50,000 competitors from more than 150 countries.
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