A Marathon First-Timer From Sweden Just Won New York
Andreas Almgren, 31, pulled away from a large lead pack in the final miles to win his first and only marathon
- Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the New York City Marathon in his first-ever competitive marathon.
- Almgren finished the race in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second, which is the third-fastest time in the course’s history.
- Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women’s race on Sunday for the second time
A nation long known for producing champions in ice hockey, tennis and skiing (and, improbably, pole vault) now has another sport to add to its strengths: marathon running.
Andreas Almgren, a 31-year-old from Sweden who had never run a competitive marathon before Sunday, pulled away from a crowded field to win the New York City Marathon.
“It’s better than anything I could ever have imagined,” Almgren said.
Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women’s race on Sunday for the second time. She also won in 2024.
Almgren finished the course, known for its long inclined bridges and sharp turns, in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second—13 seconds ahead of Italian Yemaneberhan Crippa. Almgren’s time was the third-fastest in the course’s 50-year history. He was the first-ever NYC winner from Sweden.
Almgren ran with an unusually large lead pack of 15 men that held together past mile 21 before slowly picking off his competitors. He pulled away from his last challenger, Crippa, in the final mile.
Almgren said last week that he chose to run New York rather than flatter, faster courses in Chicago or Valencia because he wanted a true race rather than a time trial.
“I don’t really have experience knowing what time I should target,” Almgren said. “I just think that New York is a better fit for me where I’m at, at this moment. I can just follow the front pack and then hopefully be strong in the end.”
Although it was Almgren’s first marathon, he didn’t come out of nowhere. In September he won the half-marathon at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in a blistering 58:06, one of the 10 fastest times in history.
He’s also excelled at the 10,000 meters, winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He took gold in the event at the European Championships in August, shattering an event record that had stood since 1978 with a time of 27:23.44.
Almgren’s performance on Sunday was also a boon for Nike, his sponsor. A decade ago, the footwear giant kicked off the “super shoe” era that revolutionized marathon running with models that featured a springy carbon-fiber plate and superlight energy-returning foam.
But Nike had since fallen behind competitors like Adidas, whose runners wore an ultralight offering to shatter the two-hour marathon barrier in London last April.
Almgren said last week he would race in Nike’s Apex model, one of a wave of recent releases.