NYC Marathon: Tamirat Tola sets course record in men’s race

(CNN) — Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola broke away from the rest of the field to set a course record and win the men’s race at the New York City marathon on Sunday while Kenya’s Hellen Obiri won the women’s race.

Completing the course in 2:04.58, Tola finished almost two minutes ahead of second-placed Albert Korir and broke the record set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011.

Obiri, meanwhile, registered a time of 2:27:23, outlasting Ethiopia’s Letsenbet Gidey in a thrilling sprint finish, as she completed the double after winning the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

Tola had never finished on the podium in his three previous appearances in New York, placing fourth in 2018 and 2019. But he swept aside all the competition, running the last six miles alone after dropping his compatriot Jemal Yimer.

The women’s race was a cagey, attritional affair – a group of 11 remained together for most of the course – but the pace eventually showed and, one by one, runners began dropping out the back.

Obiri eventually proved the strongest as she finished almost six seconds ahead of Gidey and 10 seconds ahead of defending champion Sharon Lokedi in third.

Earlier in the day, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race for a record sixth time, finishing in a time of 1:25.29, just three seconds shy of the course record, which he set last year.

In the women’s wheelchair race, his compatriot Catherine Debrunner won her first New York City marathon with a course record of 1:39.32, more than eight minutes ahead of three-time champion Manuela Schär.

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