Kenyans Sweep NYC Marathon, Winning Men’s and Women’s Races

The Annual New York City Marathon took place on Sunday, November 6. The marathon, which saw 50,000 runners participate, was won by Kenyans in both the men’s and women’s categories. Evans Chebet and Sharon Lokedi finished in first place for their respective categories.

At the beginning of the race, the participants saw Brazilian runner Daniel do Nascimento take the lead. According to the New York Times, do Nascimento used a strategy he had used before, powerfully striding ahead of his opponents and opening a significant gap.

Brazilian runner do Nascimento used this strategy at the Tokyo Olympics held last year and failed to win as he collapsed before the end of the race. Evans Chebet chose to take the more cautious, composed approach and it bore fruit as he won the race in 2 hours 8 minutes, and 41 seconds.

Chebet’s victory was his second one this year, having won the Boston Marathon in April. Shura Kitata of Ethiopia and Abdi Nageeye of Somalia finished second and third in the men’s category.

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Sharon Lokedi claimed victory in her first appearance at the New York City Marathon. Lokedi managed to lead against some of the most well-regarded runners in the field, finishing the race in 2 hours 23 minutes, and 23 seconds. “Perfect weather for me,” said Lokedi. “I didn’t expect to win. I expected to run well. But it ended up being a good outcome.” Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, a Kenya-born Israeli, and Gotytom Gebreslase from Ethiopia came second and third respectively.

According to reports, this year’s NYC Marathon saw some of the highest temperatures in a long time. Temperatures were going up to 72 degrees while the humidity was at 67%. Officials anticipated the weather and ensured extra water stops and misting stations.

The heat made running more challenging. “It was a day to run smarter rather than harder,” Reed Fischer, a professional runner said. “You could feel it by mile two. I mean, you’re sweating way earlier than you would otherwise be sweating. So, it hurts pretty much the whole time.”

More participants were involved in this year’s marathon because the previous marathon was limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. The NYC marathon is 26.2 miles long and awards the winners of the men’s and women’s categories $100,000 each.