Evans Chebet and Sharon Lokedi of Kenya have won the New York City Marathon men’s and women’s races respectively as both of them made a splash in their debuts on Sunday.
Daniel Do Nascimento, who had been leading the entire men’s race, collapsed after 21 miles. Chebet finished in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 41 seconds, which was 13 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Shura Kitata of Ethiopia.
Chebet, 33, pulled away from the pack chasing Do Nascimento as they headed over the bridge into Manhattan for the first time. After Do Nascimento’s collapse, Chebet who won the Boston Marathon earlier this year took the lead and never was threatened the rest of the way.
It was Lokedi’s first-ever marathon, and she finished in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 23 seconds—just ahead of Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel. The 28-year-old Lokedi was in a tight race before she pulled ahead of Chemtai Salpeter in the final two miles to win by seven seconds and finish about 50 seconds off the course record.
When Lokedi was 14, her family fled their home village of Burnt Forest that became an area of violence after a Kenyan presidential election. For a month, the family lived with no shelter or a steady source of food before returning after the conflict ended. Lokedi started running about two miles to and from school each day.
Over 50,000 participants laced up their running shoes for the 51st edition of the New York City Marathon on Sunday morning and began the 26.2-mile journey across all five boroughs.
The 2022 marathon is at full capacity for the first time since 2019 after it was canceled in 2020 and downsized in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. This year’s race has drawn in a massive crowd with runners from 150 different countries.
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