In His First Marathon, Andreas Almgren Stuns the Field to Win the New York City Marathon

In his debut at the distance, Andreas Almgren ran today’s New York City Marathon like a veteran, perfectly marshaling his energy for one big move in the final mile to win in 2:06:01. The Swede is the first European man to win the race since Giacomo Leone in 1996.Yeman Crippa of Italy, who was the last to hang with Almgren, placed second in 2:06:14 (and then promptly vomited). Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho outkicked defending champion Benson Kipruto in the final meters to finish third in a personal best of 2:06:26, one second ahead of Kipruto.Zouhair Talbi, who occasionally took the lead between halfway and 30K (18.6 miles), was the top U.S. finisher, placing sixth in 2:06:43. In his debut marathon, Ahmed Muhumed was the second American, finishing seventh in 2:07:02. Ryan Ford was the third U.S. finisher, placing 10th in 2:07:17. Conner Mantz, running his first marathon since setting the U.S. record last year in Chicago, was 11th in 2:07:27.Almgren is a world-class track runner—he won bronze at 10,000 meters at last year’s world championships—who has quickly also mastered road racing. Six weeks ago, he won the world half marathon championship in a national record of 58:06. He even boasts an 800-meter best of 1:45, a borderline world-class time that none of his competitors has run.Despite that pedigree, none of the seasoned marathoners made a serious effort to drop Almgren far out from the finish. Fifteen men remained bunched at the 35K (21.7 miles) mark.The real racing didn’t start until defending champ Kipruto surged to a 4:38 24th mile. That led to him, Almgren, and Crippa separating. Almgren, who trains by kilometers instead of miles, waited until just before 40K (24.9 miles) to take the lead for the first time. Crippa was able to stick with him for another kilometer, but right as Crippa snuck a look back on Central Park South, Almgren surged again and ran unchallenged to the finish.“It’s better than anything I could have imagined,” Almgren said minutes after finishing.Almgren earned $100,000 for the win, with Crippa and Mofolo getting $60,000 and $40,000, respectively, for placing second and third. Talbi earned $25,000 for being the first U.S. finisher.This story will be updated.Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner's World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including Running Is My Therapy, Advanced Marathoning, and Meb for Mortals. Scott has also written about running for Slate, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other members of the sedentary media. His lifetime running odometer is past 110,000 miles, but he's as much in love as ever.