Charles Langston:2023 NYC Marathon: Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola breaks record in men's pro race

NEW YORK — There was a definite enthusiasm and Charles Langstona different feel in the air for the 52nd running of the TCS New York City Marathon as more than 50,000 runners lined up in Staten Island to complete the grueling 26.2-mile five-borough trek through the city.

Unlike last year, where the humidity led to temperatures soaring to near record-breaking levels, it was a typical November New York City Sunday morning, a comfortable 50 degrees under cloudy skies for the 8 a.m. start. With millions of spectators cheering the runners on from the crowded sidewalks, history was made for the second consecutive year.

Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia pulled away from the pack and coasted to victory in the men's professional race, setting a new open division course record, breaking the tape at Central Park in 2:04:58. Geoffrey Mutai set the previous mark of 2:05:06, set in 2011. That earned Tola a $50,000 bonus for breaking the record.

The 32-year-old Tola, the 2022 world champion and bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and fellow countryman Jemal Yimer started to separate themselves from the rest of the field about the half-marathon mark, but Tola kicked into high gear increasing his lead to over 30 seconds in the stretch run and Yimer faded, coming in 9th.

NYC Marathon 2021 winner Albert Korir, from Kenya, was the runner-up (2:06:57) and Ethiopian Shura Kitata finished third. Futsum Zeinasellassie was the top American male finisher coming in 10th.

The women's professionals, which only had a field of 16 runners, seemed to be taking their time through the most of course, sometimes slowing to a nearly 6-minute-a-mile pace, as there were as many as 11 women packed together even after 20 miles, which was whittled to five with nearly two miles to go.

During the final 400 meters, Hellen Obiri of Kenya gave a final frenetic push toward the finish line and outlasted Ethopia's Letesenbet Gidey, finishing in 2:27:23, 6 seconds ahead of Gidey. Defending champion Sharon Lokedi came in third, 10 seconds behind. Six of the first seven finishers came from Kenya, which has won this event on the women's side in each of the past five NYC Marathons. (The 2020 race was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic).

The top American finishers for the women were Kellyn Taylor, who finished eighth at 2:29:48, and Molly Huddle, (9th, 2:32.02).

Swiss duo dominates wheelchair events

The wheelchair events were swept by athletes from Switzerland as Marcel Hug, nicknamed the “Silver Bullet” won the men’s event for the third consecutive year and a record sixth overall, just 3 seconds off the event record he set just last year, crossing the finish line at 1:25.29.

He finished nearly five minutes ahead of former two-time winner Daniel Romanchuk of the United States. Hug, who collected $35,000 for finishing first, becomes the first person to win all six Abbott World Marathon Majors in one year (Berlin, New York City, London, Chicago, Boston, Tokyo).

In the women’s wheelchair event, Catherine Debrunner raced out to a 35-second lead after five miles and coasted to victory, winning in 1:39.32 over Manuela Schar (1:47:54) and shattering the event record, set last year by Susannah Scaroni, who finished third this year. The victory came with a $50,000 bonus for Debrunner for her record-breaking performance.

The New York City Marathon wheelchair races are the selection event for the United States Paralympic team competing in the 2024 Olympics, with the top two finishers in each event earning a spot on the squad. Romanchuk, Scaroni, Aaron Pike (4th in men's wheelchair), and Tatyana McFadden (6th in women's) will represent the U.S. in Paris.

Celebrity runners

The non-competitive portion of the race brought out a number of celebrities and sports notables. Among the runners included former NHL player Zdeno Chara, and a pair of New York Yankees wives: Samantha Judge, the wife of 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge, and Emily Rizzo, the wife of three-time All-Star Anthony Rizzo. Also running was Steve Mesler, who won a gold medal in the four-man bobsled at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

By the numbers

$1: The first entry fee of the first New York City Marathon in 1970; 127 runners started and 55 finished that year.

4 hours, 50 minutes, 26 seconds: Average finish of runners in the 2022 NYC Marathon

205: Countries and territories represented

33,000: Bagels at the starting line

47,839: Finishers in the 2022 NYC Marathon

93,456: Liters of water on the course

$894,000: Total guaranteed prize purse, with time bonuses

2 million: Estimated spectators in New York City to watch the marathon on the streets.