Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women’s New York City Marathon on Sunday, 1 November 2026, taking the title for a second time. Race-day reports from the Associated Press and Reuters put her finishing time at 2 hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds. She had also won the event in 2024.
American Jessica McClain finished six seconds behind in 2:24:42, passing Kenya’s Hellen Obiri near the finish. Obiri was third in 2:24:43. The close finish gave Kenya two places on the women’s podium, while McClain interrupted the Kenyan pair’s contest for the first two positions in the closing stages.
Chepkirui and Obiri had reached the 40-kilometre checkpoint together in 2:17:39, according to RUN247’s race account. McClain was only a little more than three seconds behind them. Chepkirui then separated herself from her rivals before the finish, making the decisive move in a race that remained tightly grouped well beyond halfway.
The achievement is another major victory, rather than a new course record. Organiser New York Road Runners lists Obiri’s 2:19:51 from 2025 as the women’s event record. Chepkirui’s winning time was slower than that mark. Winning a tactical marathon and setting the fastest time ever run on its course are different achievements.
New York’s course covers 26.2 miles through all five boroughs. The organiser’s rules base the invited professional division’s finishing order on gun time and list equal first-place prize money of $100,000 for men and women. Those published rules explain the competition framework; they do not establish that prize money has already been paid to any athlete.
For Nigerian readers following African sporting excellence, the result offers a clear achievement to celebrate without inflating it into a world record. Chepkirui reclaimed a race she had previously won, and Obiri remained on the podium. Race-day times are reported here as published; the organiser distinguishes live unofficial tracking from the official results issued after the event.