By Elias Makori, Managing Editor
Kericho County broke into song and dance on Sunday when home girl Sheila Chepkirui won this year’s TCS New York City Marathon with a watch party sponsored by Bank of Africa at the Kericho Tea Hotel attracting hundreds of athletes, coaches and fans who celebrated a Kenyan sweep in the World Marathon Majors race’s women’s competition.
Dutchman Andi Nageeye celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 2023 New York City Marathon on Sunday. PHOTO _ NN RUNNING TEAM
History was rewritten at Sunday’s race as Abdi Nageeye became the first athlete from the Netherlands to capture a men’s open division title and Chepkirui leading a Kenyan sweep of the women’s open division podium while claiming her first-ever Abbott World Marathon Majors title.
Daniel Romanchuk and Susannah Scaroni led an American sweep of the wheelchair division, a marathon first.
In an inspiring display of resilience, Nageeye and in a thrilling final sprint, Nageeye outpaced 2022 champion Evans Chebet, marking a historic achievement on the streets of New York.
This victory is especially sweet for Nageeye, who endured a challenging summer after a DNF at the Paris Olympics. Earlier in April, he had set a national record of 2:04:45 at the NN Marathon Rotterdam, but his sights were firmly set on the Olympics after his silver medal in Tokyo. Unfortunately, he had to redirect his focus to New York.
On Sunday, however, he showed the world his determination and strength, completing the first half in 65:35 and accelerating through the second one in an impressive 62:02.
After years of close finishes—previously placing fifth, third, and fourth—his dream of victory in Central Park is finally a reality.
Sheila Chepkirui crosses the finish line to win the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon. PHOTO _ TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHON
“Am I dreaming or what, am I winning New York?” Nageeye said, smiling as he recounted the race's final moments to the press.
“The Olympics were very tough for me. I didn’t spend a training day without thinking about it. But that fueled my motivation for New York, even during the race. I was so focused and ready to respond to every move.”
Reflecting on his strategy, Nageeye added: “I was thinking like a cyclist. I knew that if I was still there after 35-36 km, I would win. But I still can’t believe it.
“I feel really happy with [the race] because I didn’t perform [well] in the Olympics, and that really was one of my biggest disappointments ever,” Nageeye said.
“So I went back to training, and I told myself, you will never get it back…You can only do one thing: in less than two months you can do something great at the greatest marathon in the world, so focus on that.”
Kenya rounded out the podium, with a pair of former champions in Evans Chebet, the 2022 champion, and Albert Korir, the 2021 champion, in second and third place, in 2:07:45 and 2:08:00. Conner Mantz, the top American at the 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon, was the top American today, finishing in sixth in 2:09:00.
Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei contragulates Sheila Chepkirui after she won the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon
In her TCS New York City Marathon debut, Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui led the way for a Kenyan sweep in 2:24:35; the first time since 1978 that a single country won gold, silver and bronze in the women’s open division.
“Winning today means a lot to me. It means my training has been well, and I'm really happy for the win,” Chepkirui, who lives and trains in Kericho county, said.
The 2023 TCS New York City Marathon champion and 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Hellen Obiri was second in 2:24:49, followed by compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot in 2:25:21.
Chepkirui broke into the international limelight in 2005 when she won gold at the World Youth Championships in Marrakech in the 1,500 metres, at the time under the tutelage of Japheth Kemei.
“Sheila was in my camp as a primary school girl and I coached her all the way before she joined the Kenya Defence Forces. I’m really proud of her winning the New York City Marathon as this motivates other young athletes in the South Rift,” Kemei, who is also Athletics Kenya’s Kericho sub-branch chairman, said at the Bank of Africa “Viewerthon” at Kericho’s Tea Hotel.
Kemei took her up while she was in Class Seven at the Chebirbelek Primary School and placed her under his wings at the Sigowet Athletics Club, inviting her to the club’s Kakibei Camp in 2002 for holiday training sessions.
It was while at Kakibei that she made it to the World Youth Championships and won gold in the 1,500m, signalling the start of her professional career that has continued to blossom since she passed out at KDF in 2011 after completing her high school education at Kericho’s Kiptere Secondary School.
“I am so elated with Sheila’s win in NY. It could not have happened on a better day than today when the viewerthon is in her home town of Kericho,” Malenya Lusimba, head of Bank of Africa Kenya’s ‘Mwanariadha Account’ said.
“It excites me further seeing Kenyan ladies stand on the podium 1, 2, 3. What a good closure to 2024 Abbot World Marathon Majors season. Congratulations to Chebet and Korir too!” Lusimba added.
Bank of Africa Kenya’s “Viewerthons” is a series of events where the bank invites elite and upcoming athletes along with the local community to follow the Abbott World Marathon Majors races live from Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York while being taken through education programmes.
This is the eighth year that BOA are sponsoring the Viewerthon series as part of the bank’s commitment to supporting Kenya’s world class athletic talent pool.
“We strive to start working with athletes when they are still young, agile, full of energies and in their formative ages. This is when they are eager to make wins and earn from their sporting activities and endorsements,” Lusimba noted.
“It is always easy to shape their thoughts to think post-retirement with a good financial plan, given that an athlete’s lifespan in his sporting life is short and their bodies are susceptible to lots of injuries. They should make most of this formative stage.”
In addition to sponsoring the marathon viewing parties, Bank of Africa Kenya offers a distinctive package for sportsmen and women through its ‘Mwanariadha Account’ and Asset Finance, among other products that further contributes to their financial goals.
Chepkirui’s win highlighted her rise from the track to the marathon, her last big achievement on the track having been the bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the 10,000 metres.
The only athlete among three siblings, and born in Chebirbelek, Kiprogonit Village of Kericho County, Chepkirui was the fastest in the field on Sunday coming into the race with a personal best time of 2:17:29 from the 2022 Valencia Marathon.
In the women’s race on Sunday, Sara Vaughn, a late addition to the field, was the top American in sixth place, her highest finish at an Abbott World Marathon Majors event.
In the professional wheelchair division, Daniel Romanchuk and Susannah Scaroni returned to the top of the podium to become the first pair of American athletes to win the division. Romanchuk, the champion from 2018 and 2019, broke the tape first in 1:36:31, followed by Great Britain’s David Weir in 1:36:36 and Japan’s Tomoki Suzuki in 1:36:44.
“[It] certainly [was a] very, very tight race all the way…It came down to just [giving] it everything I had and [hoping] that [was] enough,” Romanchuk said.
In the women’s wheelchair division, Scaroni won her second TCS New York City Marathon in 1:48:05. She won by more than 10 minutes, one of the largest margins of victory in event history.
“I had a wonderful day. I felt great. It's always a blessing. This course will challenge you every step of the way, and so I just tried to meet each of those challenges and hope that the gap that I had could extend or at least maintain, and [I’m] really thankful,” Scaroni said.
American Tatyana McFadden, a five-time TCS New York City Marathon champion, was second in 1:58:47, followed by Manuela Schar of Switzerland in 1:59:20.
The 2024 TCS New York City Marathon, the BEST DAY in New York City, welcomed more than 50,000+ runners from nearly 150 countries and all 50 U.S. states.
As one of the city’s most anticipated and iconic annual sporting events, the TCS New York City Marathon is one of the most inclusive and accessible sporting events in the world, with the first finisher and the final finisher, running the same course on the same day.
2024 TCS New York City Marathon Women's Professional Top 25 Results:
- Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) -- 2:24:35
- Hellen Obiri (KEN) -- 2:24:49
- Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) -- 2:25:21
- Eunice Chumba (BRN) --2:25:58
- Fabienne Schlumpf (SUI) -- 2:26:31
- Sara Vaughn (USA) -- 2:26:56
- Senbere Teferi (ETH) -- 2:27:14
- Jessica McClain (USA) -- 2:27:19
- Sharon Lokedi (KEN) -- 2:27:45
- Kellyn Taylor (USA) -- 2:27:59
- Des Linden (USA) -- 2:29:32
- Edna Kiplagat (KEN) -- 2:29:56
- Tristin Colley (USA) -- 2:30:02
- Maggie Montoya (USA) -- 2:30:53
- Lily Partridge (GBR) -- 2:30:55
- Savannah Berry (USA) -- 2:31:39
- Dakotah Popehn (USA) -- 2:31:45
- Jenny Simpson (USA) -- 2:31:54
- Aliphine Tuliamuk (USA) -- 2:32:10
- Jessa Hanson (USA) -- 2:32:43
- Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh (MNG) -- 2:36:30
- Katja Goldring (USA) -- 2:37:52
- Carrie Ellwood (USA) -- 2:37:54
- Holly Clarke (USA) -- 2:39:18
- Sarah Reiter (USA) -- 2:41:01
2024 TCS New York City Marathon Men's Professional Top 25 Results:
- Abdi Nageeye (NED) -- 2:07:39
- Evans Chebet (KEN) -- 2:07:45
- Albert Korir (KEN) -- 2:08:00
- Tamirat Tola (ETH) -- 2:08:12
- Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) -- 2:08:50
- Conner Mantz (USA) -- 2:09:00
- Clayton Young (USA) -- 2:09:21
- Abel Kipchumba (KEN) - 2:10:39
- Bashir Abdi (BEL) -- 2:10:39
- CJ Albertson (USA) -- 2:10:57
- Ryan Ford (USA) -- 2:11:08
- Colin Bennie (USA) -- 2:11:16
- Frank Lara (USA) -- 2:11:21
- Jonny Mellor (GBR) -- 2:11:22
- Rory Linkletter (CAN) -- 2:11:45
- Wesley Kiptoo (KEN) -- 2:11:58
- Futsum Zienasellassie (USA) -- 2:12:32
- Joel Reichow (USA) -- 2:12:52
- Elkanah Kibet (USA) -- 2:13:27
- Ryan Eiler (USA) -- 2:13:36
- Teshome Mekonen (USA) -- 2:14:12
- Addisu Goberna (ETH) -- 2:14:49
- Callum Hawkins (GBR) -- 2:15:12
- Josh Izewski (USA) -- 2:16:58
- Desta Utura Gedo (ETH) -- 2:18:30
(Reporting with resources from TCS New York City Marathon and NN Running team)