Abdi Nageeye wins the men’s race at the 2024 New York City Marathon
In the final 600 meters of the Central Park stretch, Abdi Nageeye surged ahead, leaving Kenya's Evans Chebet behind, and crossed the finish line at the New York City Marathon on Sunday with a time of 2:07:39. Nageeye made history as the first runner from the Netherlands to claim victory in any professional category at this prestigious race.
Chebet, the 2022 race winner, took second place this time with a time of 2:07:45. Albert Korir from Kenya, who claimed victory in New York City in 2021, secured the third spot at 2:08:00. The previous champion, Tamirat Tola from Ethiopia, who earned the Olympic title in August, finished in fourth place with a time of 2:08:50.
Team USA had an impressive performance in New York City, with three athletes finishing in the top 10. Conner Mantz led the American runners, securing sixth place with a time of 2:09:00. He previously won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February and finished as the highest American in the Olympics in August, where he placed eighth. Mantz's finishing time is the second quickest ever recorded by an American in this event, just behind Alberto Salazar's record-setting mark of 2:08:13 from 1981.
Mantz's training partner, Clayton Young, secured seventh place as the second American finisher, clocking in at 2:09:21. This performance came just three months after he placed ninth in the Olympics.
In the meantime, Jonny Mellor from the UK crossed the finish line in 14th place with a time of 2:11:22, making him the top British runner in the race. Earlier this year, Mellor achieved a personal best of 2:09:09 at the Seville Marathon in Spain.
The leading American runners, Conner Mantz (on the far right) and Clayton Young (second from the right), during the initial mile of the race.
How The Victory Was Achieved
The race began slowly, with 13 runners reaching the halfway point together in a time of 1:05:33. As they exited the Queensboro Bridge and entered Manhattan, Chebet made a strong move, quickly reducing the lead group to just six runners after a fast 4:27 mile at the 17th mark. Mantz found himself in a three-man chase group, but when the leaders clocked in at 4:38 for the 18th mile, their hopes that the front runners would slow down were dashed. In the end, Chebet, Nageeye, and two-time New York champion Geoffrey Kamworor from Kenya completed the 10 kilometers between the 25K (15.5 miles) and 35K (21.7 miles) checkpoints in just 28:32.
Just after hitting the 21-mile mark, Nageeye briefly lost touch with the lead group. Tola, the previous year's champion who set the course record at 2:04:58, checked his watch. However, it was Tola's race that had come to an end, not Nageeye's. Tola dropped out for good, while Nageeye managed to reconnect with Chebet and Kamworor. These two Kenyan runners had more high-profile victories than Nageeye—Chebet has won the Boston Marathon twice, and Kamworor boasts world titles in both cross country and the half marathon. The fact that neither of them made a move to take the lead at this stage likely brought some encouragement to Nageeye.
Kamworor began to fall behind just shy of the 23-mile point. Nageeye positioned himself closely behind Chebet. Then, one hour and 53 minutes into the race, Nageeye took the lead for the first time. He relaxed his shoulders and appeared calm. On the other hand, Chebet raced with a furrowed brow, tense shoulders, and a bobbing head.
Evans Chebet and Abdi Nageeye running together in the last stretches through Central Park.
Nageeye and Chebet occasionally tried to gain an advantage over each other in Central Park, but neither was able to take a clear lead during the challenging hills of miles 24 and 25. As they entered the park again with less than half a mile remaining, Nageeye managed to pull ahead of Chebet slightly and increased his lead as they tackled the first of two hills in the final stretch. From that point on, it was clear who would win.
Nageeye, who is 35 years old, is an experienced marathon runner with an impressive track record. He has finished third in 2022, fourth in 2023, and fifth in 2021 at the New York City Marathon. This marks his first win in a World Marathon Major event.
He clinched victory in the Rotterdam Marathon in both 2022 and 2024. This year, he achieved a remarkable time of 2:04:45, which is both his personal record and a new Dutch national standard. In the 2021 Olympic Marathon, Nageeye earned a silver medal. However, he did not finish the Olympic Marathon held in Paris last August.
Nageeye's victory in New York marks his first triumph in a World Marathon Major event.
