Sheila Chepkirui Storms to New York City Marathon Glory as Kenya's Reign Continues

Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui has won the New York City Marathon, leading the women's field across the finish line in New York City, United States, on Sunday to claim one of the most prestigious titles in world road running.

The Kenyan runner completed the 42.195-kilometre (26.2-mile) course through the city's five boroughs ahead of a world-class field, extending a decade of Kenyan dominance in the women's race at the event.

Chepkirui's victory answered the question that had dominated sports coverage in Kenya in the build-up to the race, when the Daily Nation asked whether Kenya's reign in the New York Marathon would hold. On the streets of New York, the answer was delivered in emphatic fashion.

The race began on Staten Island, with tens of thousands of runners crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn before continuing through Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx and finishing in Central Park in Manhattan. More than a million spectators typically line the route through the five boroughs, making race day one of the most celebrated occasions on New York's sporting calendar.

The New York City Marathon, organised by New York Road Runners, is one of the six World Marathon Majors alongside the marathons in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin and Chicago. It is among the largest marathons in the world and carries one of the most sought-after titles in the sport.

Kenyan women have made the race their own in recent years. Mary Keitany won the New York title four times, Hellen Obiri took back-to-back victories, and Joyciline Jepkosgei and Peres Jepchirchir have also won on the five-borough course. With only rare exceptions in recent editions, the women's crown has stayed in Kenyan hands, and Chepkirui's triumph keeps the title in the East African nation for another year.

Unlike the flat courses of Berlin and Chicago, where world records are routinely set, the New York course features rolling hills and punishing bridges that turn the race into a tactical contest, frequently decided on the climbs leading to the finish in Central Park.

Chepkirui produced a performance worthy of the occasion, holding off a deep international field through the closing stages to secure the New York crown and add her name to the long list of Kenyan champions in the event.

The win reinforces Kenya's standing as the dominant force in global marathon running. Kenyan athletes routinely occupy podium positions across the World Marathon Majors and have collected titles at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships over distances from 800 metres to the marathon.

Victory in New York also carries significant rewards, with the champion claiming one of road running's biggest prizes and valuable points in the World Marathon Majors series, the season-long competition that spans the six largest city marathons in the world.

Chepkirui's success continues a remarkable stretch for Kenyan women in the marathon, a run of results that had prompted the Daily Nation to frame the New York race as a test of whether the country's supremacy at the event would endure.

The New York race traditionally rounds out the World Marathon Majors calendar each year, and Chepkirui's victory gives Kenya the final word on the season, with the women's title in the Big Apple remaining firmly in Kenyan hands.