NEW YORK -- The 2018 TCS New York City Marathon brings nine Olympians, fourteen Paralympians and dozens of elite athletes to the Big Apple for another chance at making history on the roads of the five boroughs. Following last year’s record-breaking win by Shalane Flanagan, the American women look to repeat victory as the men are poised to take back gold.
Sunday’s race, which follows Saturday’s USATF 5 km Championships on USATF.TV, can be watched on ESPN2 and followed along with live updates on USATF’s Twitter account.
Defending champion Shalane Flanagan (Portland, Oregon) became the first American woman in forty years to win the title at last year’s marathon (2:26:53). Since then, the New York Times bestselling author has created a surge of positive momentum in women’s long distance running. She finished seventh at the 2018 Boston Marathon in 2:46:31 behind winner Des Linden in 2:39:54.
Linden (Chula Vista, California), who also made history with her distinguished win, hopes to conquer two of the major world marathons in a single year. Her top podium finish at Boston was the best for an American woman since 1985.
Last year’s unexpected fifth-place finisher, Allie Kieffer (West Islip, New York), returns to NYC with an updated strategy and determined focus. Kieffer dropped nearly 26 minutes off her PR in 2017, running 2:29:39 and beating more well-known hopefuls along the way. She’s joined by 2018 Boston Marathon runner-up Sarah Sellers (Ogden, Utah), who sprang onto the running world’s radar this year with her impressive 2:44:04 performance.
2018 USATF 10 km Championships winner Stephanie Bruce (Phoenix, Arizona) comes to NYC following her first national title win earlier this year, clocking in at 32:21. Rounding out the American women’s elite field is Olympian Molly Huddle (Elmira, New York), who has a best marathon time of 2:28:13.
On the men’s side, five-time Olympian Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Arizona) will make his marathon debut alongside fellow American Alex Monroe (Lewistown, Pennsylvania). The 43-year-old Lagat recently won the USATF 10 km Championships in a Masters age group-record time of 28:45.
Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Arizona), who was the highest-finishing American male in 2017 and the 2016 third place finisher, enters this year’s marathon with the fastest American PR in 2:08:56. At 41-years-old, Abdirahman is poised to lead a strong U.S. contingent that also features Chris Derrick (Naperville, Illinois), Scott Fauble (Golden, Colorado), Tim Ritchie (Worcester, Massachusetts), Jared Ward (Kaysville, Utah), Ryan Vail (Portland, Oregon), Shadrack Biwott (Albuquerque, New Mexico), Nicholas Hilton (Flagstaff, Arizona) and Scott Smith (Walton, Kentucky).
Ritchie placed first in last year’s USATF Marathon Championships in California in 2:11:56, and Derrick was the second highest-finishing American at the 2017 Chicago Marathon in 2:12:50.
The last win by an American male was Meb Keflezighi (San Diego, California) in 2009. Keflezighi officially retired from professional competition at last year’s NYC Marathon and will be running this year for charity.
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