Kipruto beats Mutiso in New York thriller

Benson Kipruto edged out Alex Mutiso in one of the best finishes ever seen in an Abbott World Marathon Major.

The Kenyan pair were side-by-side as they entered the final mile but Kipruto managed to sneak ahead as the pair turned into Central Park.

That late burst seemed to have seen off Mutiso but he summoned a late surge up the hill to set up a grandstand finish.

The pair appeared to break the tape in tandem but Kipruto was ajudged the winner by less than two tenths of a second.

It means Kipruto has now won four of the original six Majors following victories in Boston, Chicago and Tokyo.

For Mutiso, his runners-up finish followed his victory in London in 2024.

There was an exciting battle for third between Albert Korir, winner here in 2021, and Britain’s Patrick Dever, making his marathon debut, who were both in the shake up with a mile to go.

In the end was Korir who took third, by just a second.

In the women’s race, Hellen Obiri regained her New York City title - smashing the course record in the process - after an intriguing battle with Sharon Lokedi.

At the 19-mile mark it appeared that the winner would come from a group of five with Obiri, Lokedi, Sheila Chepkirui, Sifan Hassan and American runner Fiona O’Keeffe separated by just a second.

Five then became three as Hassan and O’Keeffe dropped back and soon it was left to Obiri and Lokedi to fight it out.

The pair were locked together until Obiri made her move on entering Central Park, eventually pushing on to win by 16 seconds. Chepkirui finished third.