November 7th 2023.
On November 5th, Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia and Hellen Obiri of Kenya emerged triumphant at the New York Marathon.
Tola ran an impressive 2:04:58, beating the 2:05.06 record set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. His efforts were further magnified considering he had dropped out of the 2023 race due to illness. His countrymate, Jemel Yimer, ran with him until the 20th mile, when Tola pushed on alone. He was grateful for the fans who cheered him on throughout the race, telling ABC New York, "The people of New York [are] amazing to give me moral support every kilometer."
Albert Korior of Kenya came in second place, clocking in at 2:06:57, just under a second ahead of Ethiopian Shura Kitata in third.
In the women's race, Hellen Obiri smashed the competition, finishing at 2:27:33 and becoming the first woman to win both the Boston and New York City marathons in the same year since 1989. She was followed by Letesenbet Gidney of Ethiopia, Sharon Lokedi and Brigid Kosgel of Kenya. The four women ran close together, each taking the lead at different points, with Obiri making her charge in the final seconds of the race and beating Gidney by the slimmest of margins - six seconds.
Speaking of her journey, Obiri told ESPN Sports, "My first debut here was terrible for me. Sometimes you learn from your mistakes. Finally, I made it."
Kenya now faces the unenviable task of announcing its three-woman team for the 2024 Olympics, with Obiri, Lokedi, Kosgei and Tokyo Olympic marathon winner Peres Jepchirchir all in contention. Jepchirchir withdrew from the New York Marathon this year due to an injury, having won the 2021 race and the Boston Marathon in 2022.
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