Mary Keitany of Kenya and Ghirmay Ghebreslassie of Eritrea won the women’s and men’s New York City Marathon on Sunday as Americans grabbed podium spots for the first time in six years.
Keitany, 34 years old, furthered her own legacy as one of the marathon’s all-time greats, becoming only the third woman to win the New York race three times or more, joining Paula Radcliffe and the late Grete Waitz, a nine-time champion. Ghebreslassie, the 2015 world champion and the fourth-place finisher at the Rio Olympics, became the youngest men’s champion in New York at age 20.
Americans Abdi Abdirahman, 39, and Molly Huddle, 32, took bronze medals in the men’s and women’s races, respectively. The last American to earn a podium spot at the New York Marathon was Shalane Flanagan, who placed second in 2010.
Keitany won the women’s race in 2:24:26, more than 3½ minutes ahead of the rest of the field, demolishing her competitors over the second half of the race. She is already the second-fastest woman in history, after Radcliffe, with a personal-best 2:18:37.
Joining her on the women’s podium was compatriot Sally Kipeygo, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000 meters.
On the men’s side, Ghebreslassie broke away from a pack of three runners after the 30-kilometer mark, around 18 miles, and extended his lead through the Bronx and final Manhattan portion of the race. He finished in 2:07:51, more than a minute ahead of silver medalist Lucas Rotich of Kenya.
Sunday’s race was the 40th anniversary of its transformation into a five-borough event, starting in Staten Island and snaking through the city to its finish in Central Park. It is now the largest marathon in the world by finishers, with an estimated 50,000 expected to cross the line on Sunday afternoon.
But the race’s size, coupled with increasing security in recent years following the Boston Marathon bombing, has made its staging no simple feat. Organizers faced a few logistical issues before the start of the race, according to New York Road Runners spokesman Chris Weiler.
One of the three ferries carrying runners from Manhattan to Staten Island encountered a mechanical problem and had to be taken out of service early Sunday, he said, causing a bottleneck at the Staten Island Ferry terminal. The glut was exacerbated as runners faced security screening, including bag inspection and metal detectors before boarding buses to get to the start area in Fort Wadsworth, Mr. Weiler said.
Barbara Morgan, 36, of New York said she waited at the ferry terminal in Staten Island for close to two hours without an announcement about the delay from race officials. She got to Fort Wadsworth but missed her scheduled start time and had to begin the race in a later wave of participants, she said.
“I’m annoyed that this stressed me out,” Ms. Morgan said before the start of her first marathon.
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