The women’s professional marathon field has never been faster.
After a thrilling race in Chicago saw Kenya’s Ruth Chepng'etich shatter the women’s marathon world record with a stunning 2:09:56 performance, the running world will shift its focus to the next World Marathon Major, as approximately 50,000 runners prepare to race through the spectator-lined streets of New York City on Sunday, Nov. 3.
The elite field is headlined by three Kenyan stars— defending champion Hellen Obiri, Sharon Lokedi and Sheila Chepkirui. The trio will be hard to catch, but the New York course is notorious for its rolling hills, making tactical prowess essential to mastering the challenging terrain and adding an element of unpredictability to the race.
Obiri returns to New York after her victory last year, where she outsprinted Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey in a dramatic final 400m to become the first woman in 34 years to win both the Boston and New York City Marathons in the same calendar year. A former world champion and Olympic silver medalist on the track, Obiri’s transition to the road has been seamless and she’s quickly established herself as one of marathon running’s best.
Obiri will look to secure the double crown again in 2024, having already defended her Boston title in April. Although a world record attempt is unfeasible on New York’s course, Obiri told Citius Mag Thursday that she is chasing the elusive course record of 2:22:31, set by Kenya’s Margaret Okayo over two decades ago in 2003. To break it, Obiri will have to shed almost five minutes off her 2023 performance of 2:27:23.
Obiri is coming off a bronze-medal performance at the Paris Olympic marathon — finishing behind two all-time greats, Sifan Hassan and Tigst Assefa — despite missing water stations and falling along the course.
Obiri’s strongest challenger will likely be Lokedi, her compatriot who knows what it takes to win in the Big Apple after her victory at the 2022 New York City Marathon. Since then, though, Lokedi has repeatedly fallen just short of Obiri, finishing third in New York last year, second in Boston in April, and most recently just four seconds shy of Obiri and the bronze medal in Paris. These near misses are sure to fuel Lokedi’s determination to turn the tide and finally surpass Obiri, and their heated rivalry could be just the spark needed to push one of them to break the course record.
Meanwhile, Chepkirui is the fastest on paper, with a personal best time of 2:17:29. The 33-year-old is relatively new to the marathon, but she has already recorded two sub-2:18 performances with her third-place finish at the 2022 Valencia Marathon and runner-up performance at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. It will be exciting to see how she fares against Obiri and Lokedi, who both have more experience on New York’s challenging, hilly course with 810 feet of elevation gain.
U.S. Olympian Dakotah Popehn (formerly Lindwurm) will also compete, coming off her top American finish at the Paris Olympic marathon. The 29-year-old, a former NCAA Division II walk-on, ascended to American distance-running stardom after a third-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials and a 12th-place showing in Paris earlier this year. Although it may be a long shot, Lindwurm represents the Americans’ best chances at clinching a spot on the podium, and with a home crowd and nothing to lose — 2024 will stand as her most successful year yet, no matter Sunday’s results — it is impossible to count her out.
American Jessica McClain will make her World Marathon Major debut, marking a significant test against a highly competitive international field. McClain, 32, is a rising star in the sport after winning the USATF 10k Championships in September after narrowly missing out on the Olympics with a fourth-place finish in both the marathon and 10k U.S. Olympic Trials this summer. Although McClain traveled to Paris as the U.S. marathon alternate, she did not start the race after Fiona O’Keefe, the U.S. Olympic Trials champion, attempted the race despite an injury, only to drop out before the 5k mark.
Other top American runners in the elite field include 2020 Olympian Aliphine Tuliamuk; 2012 and 2016 Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon Champion Des Linden; former 1500m world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Jenny Simpson, who will be running her last professional race before retirement; and last year’s eighth-placed runner and top American woman Kellyn Taylor.
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