Olympic champion Jepchirchir, Korir win New York City Marathon

Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir wins New York Marathon [photo courtesy]

Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir won the 50th running of the New York City Marathon on Sunday in 2:22:39, surviving a thrilling three-way battle before sprinting for the finish line, and fellow Kenyan Albert Korir won the men's race in 2:08:22.

Jepchirchir is the first athlete to pick up Olympic gold and win the famed five-borough race in the same year, with compatriot Viola Cheptoo and Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh finishing second and third respectively.

American Molly Seidel, who took home the bronze from the Tokyo Games, finished fourth.

Korir, who finished second in 2019, had established a 17-second lead through the 35-kilometre mark and leapt into the air as he broke the tape in Central Park, with Moroccan Mohamed El Aaraby finishing 44 seconds behind and Italian Eyob Faniel finishing third.

Albert Korir wins the men's New York Marathon. [photo courtesy]

The temperature hovered around 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.44°C) on Staten Island as the marathon major kicked off at 8 a.m. ET, after going on hiatus for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Swiss Marcel Hug won the men's wheelchair division in 1:31:24 and Paralympic champion Madison de Rozario was the first Australian to win the women's wheelchair race, finishing in 1:51:01.