NEW YORK – Kenyan athlete Sharon Lokedi (2h23: 23) and athlete Evans Chebet (2h08: 41) won this Sunday in the New York marathon, one of the most famous long-term events in the world and that this 2022 returned to host more than 50,000 runners.
Lokedi, 28 years old and rookie in the New York race, crossed the line in front of the Israeli Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (2h23: 30), the Ethiopian Gotytom Gebreslase (2h23: 39) and the Kenyan Edna Kiplagat (2h24: 16). ) who started as a favorite among other experienced long distance runners.
Up to nearly mile 19, a small group of runners kept pace with the race until Kenyans Hellen Obiri and Viola Cheptoo and Ethiopian Gotytom Gebreslase broke order in an attempt to escape.
Lokedi, who ran the final stages alongside Salpeter, managed to break away from his teammate in the last two miles and reach the finish on his own.
After winning, Lokedi showed his joy and gratitude for the encouragement received during the 26-mile journey and also praised the good weather, when he expected it to be much colder, with temperatures reaching 72 degrees Fahrenheit, an unusual sign at this time of the year.
CHEBET WINS THE MALE TRIAL
Brazilian Daniel Do Nascimento, 24, escaped from the start of the race and passed half of the test with an advantage of more than two minutes over his closest rivals, a handful of eight other athletes including Chebet and his compatriot Albert Korir , in addition to the Ethiopian Shura Kitata or the American Galen Rupp, among others.
But at mile 15, 33-year-old Chebet, who had started as one of the favorites, began accelerating in pursuit of Do Nacimento, breaking the chasing group.
THE DRAMATIC ABANDONMENT OF DO BIRTH
The Brazilian athlete, on his debut in New York, collapsed after leading the race for more than an hour and forty minutes.
Seven minutes ago he had stopped with obvious signs of fatigue and dizziness. He took a few steps pretending, but he composed himself and continued his march.
However, he soon gave up when he fell to the ground. He was immediately followed by the race staff while Chebet passed him until he reached the finish line alone, followed by the Ethiopian Shura Kitata (2h08: 54) and the Dutch Abdi Nageeye (2h20: 31).
RECORD IN THE WHEELCHAIRS CATEGORY
In the wheelchair category, Swiss Marcel Hug stopped the clock in 1h25: 26 and broke the circuit record held by Australian Kurt Fearnley, who set the time of 1h29: 22 in 2006.
The American Susana Scaroni dominated in her category with 1h42: 43, a new record of the circuit set in 2015 by the American Tatyana McFadden.
This year, moreover, the organization of the marathon included a prize for the category of non-binary athletes, to which 62 people registered.
The one in New York is one of the ‘six majors’, the six best marathons in the world, together with those in Boston, Chicago, London, Tokyo and Berlin.
Born in 1970, the number of participants has grown year after year to reach 50,000 runners from all over the world to run the 42 kilometers of this race that crosses the five boroughs of New York: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan .
After the forced end of the pandemic, last year it ran at half speed, with only 30,000 attendees due to safety measures to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks.
This year the traditional test has returned to vibrate as it once was, with thousands of people cheering the runners along the course, which in several places welcomed the athletes with golden carpets of fallen leaves.
And to entertain this audience, musical groups were installed at various points of the race that animated the day, which began at 8:00 with the departure of the professional wheelchair riders and lasted all afternoon with a colorful race of thousands of fans.
