Chebet adds New York City to Boston

Evans Chebet capped a remarkable 2022 with victory at the TCS New York City Marathon.

The 2022 Boston champion only assumed first place in the race in New York when Brazil’s Daniel Do Nascimento got into difficulty after some high-octane front-running had, at one point, put him into a lead of over two minutes.

Chebet had looked the most willing to put together a sustained chase, and was best-placed to strike when Do Nascimento could not continue. Chebet was able to hold off the attack from Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata (2:08:54) in the final kilometers to claim victory in his first appearance in New York City.

“The race was hard for me, but I was thankful for my team and have so much gratitude toward my coach,” Chebet said. “My team gave me motivation and I know that after winning Boston I could come to New York and also do well.”

Abdi Nageeye was third in 2:10:31.

Marathon debutant Sharon Lokedi was all smiles as she took the women’s race on her 26.2-mile bow.

The Kenyan stuck with a group that eventually whittled down to world champion Gotytom Gebreslase and world bronze medallist Lonah Chemtai Salpeter.

It wasn’t until they turned on to Central Park South that Lokedi made the final decisive move to shake off the Israeli Salpeter and storm up the final hill to break the tape.

The early running saw America’s Des Linden twice hit the front, but a patient pack did not take the bait to chase the 2018 Boston champion, instead reeling her back in each time before things became more stretched in the late stages of the race.

Lokedi won in 2:23:23, with Salpeter clocking 2:23:30 and Gebreslase finishing in 2:23:39.

“It was amazing,” Lokedi said.

“I came in just wanting to be in the thick of the race. I knew I was strong and had really good training, so I wanted to go in and put myself in it and see where I ended up. I expected to run well, but it ended up being an even better outcome than I had hoped for.”