Korir, Jepchirchir give Kenyans sweep in NYC
NEW YORK – New York sought a comeback story for its 50th marathon, and Albert Korir delivered.
And for a city whose sports fans don’t accept second best, Peres Jepchirchir came through with a memorable first.
Korir and Jepchirchir made it a Kenyan sweep at Sunday’s New York City Marathon, with Korir winning the men’s race two years after finishing second and Jepchirchir becoming the only woman to take a marathon major in the fall after earning an Olympic gold medal.
The second oldest of the world’s marathon majors returned after canceling in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a city where over 34,000 have died of COVID-19, organizers hoped for an uplifting celebration akin to the marathon staged two months after the 9/11 attacks.
On streets emptied 21 months ago except for ambulances rushing to aid a city paralyzed by the coronavirus – and later filled with anguish and frustration in the days after George Floyd’s murder – there was simply joy Sunday as around 30,000 runners made their way through the city’s five boroughs.
Brooklynites cheered for the early rising wheelchair competitors between sips of coffee. Throngs on Manhattan’s First Avenue welcomed runners off the Queensboro Bridge. Cowbell-swinging supporters in the Bronx waved runners into the final stretch.
They clapped and hollered for the elite and the every-runner.
Shalane Flanagan, the 2017 champion, ran her sixth marathon major in six weeks – a first made possible because the Boston, London and Tokyo Marathons were pushed from spring to fall by of the pandemic. The 40-year-old American is calling her journey Project Eclipse because of how rare the opportunity was.
Also on the course: Dr. Jose Alfredo Jimenez Gaxiola, a Mexican ICU doctor who worked through the pandemic and survived his own bout with COVID-19; Kellie Roe Kenny from Califon, New Jersey, a survivor of the 9/11 attacks who first ran in 2001 in memory of co-workers who died; and Chris Nikic, the first athlete
with Down syndrome complete full Ironman Triathlon.
Molly Seidel finished fourth in her first race since taking bronze at the Tokyo Games, becoming the first American woman since Deena Kastor in 2004 to earn an Olympic medal.
She broke two ribs about a month ago but was able to power through. She refused to reveal how she was injured.
“Every build up has challenges,” Seidel said. “This was an interesting one.”
In the men’s pro race, Korir overtook Morocco’s Mohamed El Aaraby and Italy’s Eyob Faniel around the 18th mile and quickly took out any drama. He won in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 22 seconds.
“It was not an easy race,” Korir said. “But I enjoyed it.” It was Korir’s first victory in one of the World Marathon Majors and his first time atop any podium since winning the Ottawa Race Weekend Marathon in 2019. The 27-year-old Korir finished second to Geoffrey Kamworor in 2019 by 23 seconds and didn’t race again until this June because of the pandemic.