NYC Marathon Winner: Almgren Won on His Debut

The New York City Marathon winner on 1 November was a man who had never run a marathon. Andreas Almgren, a 31-year-old Swede, finished in 2:06:01, 13 seconds clear of Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa.

Debuts in New York usually come down to survival. This one came down to timing.

A race that stayed tight for 17 miles

There were no pacemakers to hide behind, and nobody broke the race open early. At 17 miles the top 17 runners were within three seconds of each other, according to Canadian Running Magazine, and the lead kept changing hands.

Then Benson Kipruto, the 2025 champion, lifted the pace on 5th Avenue. SVT reported that it came with five kilometres to go, and Almgren said he felt he had the legs. Kipruto faded inside the last two kilometres. With a little over a kilometre left, Almgren made his move, and Crippa could not follow.

Kamohelo Mofolo took third in 2:06:26. Kipruto, the man who started the surge, finished fourth in 2:06:27, one second off the podium, according to Canadian Running Magazine.

The winning time is the fourth-fastest in the race's history, SVT reported. It is also four seconds slower than Suldan Hassan's Swedish record of 2:05:57. Four seconds. Almgren has a record to chase, and it is not a long chase.

Almgren said afterwards that he could not remember feeling so emotional after a race, and back home the reaction went all the way up. King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia sent him a telegram calling the performance historic, SVT reported.

In the women's race, Sheila Chepkirui won in 2:24:36, and the American Jessica McClain passed Hellen Obiri late to take second, SVT reported.

From 800 metres to 42,195

Almgren started as a middle-distance runner. In 2014 he won bronze over 800m at the World Junior Championships in Eugene, Oregon, when he was 19. A year later he ran 1:45.59 in Sollentuna, which is still his best.

Then he kept moving up. By 2025 he had run 12:44.27 for 5,000m in Stockholm and taken bronze over 10,000m at the World Championships in Tokyo. That October he ran 58:41 for the half marathon in Valencia, fourth behind Yomif Kejelcha's 58:02, and in January he ran 26:45 for 10K on the roads there.

This year he won the European 10,000m title in Birmingham in August, in a championship record 27:23.44, then the world half marathon title in Copenhagen in September. So he did not arrive in New York as a gamble. He arrived as a European champion and a world champion who simply had not done the full distance yet.

His event, once, was 800 metres. On Sunday he raced 42,195 of them.

Why New York suits a runner with a kick

Almgren picked one of the hardest courses for a first marathon. New York's course record is 2:04:58, and the professional field has run without pacemakers since 2007, so the race is decided by moves rather than splits.

Marathon Handbook argued before the race that the choice made most sense if he wanted a place rather than a time, and that a late move would suit a man with a finisher's speed. That is exactly how it played out.

What a paper trail does

Look at how visible every step was. A 1:45 over 800m, 12:44 over 5,000m, a championship record over 10,000m. Each time he moved up in distance, there was a number a coach could check, so nobody had to take a leap of faith on him.

Most athletes do not have that paper trail. Buzzer's Athlete Badge gives an athlete a verified profile with stats and footage, visible to more than 500 connected clubs and scouts, so a change of event or position carries its evidence with it. If you are wondering what the people on the other end look for, here is how scouts find and judge athletes online.

Almgren has said he is not leaving the track. Fair enough. Debut marathon winners can do what they like.

Image: “2025 NYC Marathon” by Wil540 art, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cropped.