The 2021 New York City Marathon, the 50th running of that city's premier long-distance race, was held on November 7, 2021. Around 30,000 people ran in the event, of whom 25,020 finished. The race followed its traditional route, which passes through all five boroughs of New York City.
The elite races were won by Albert Korir and Peres Jepchirchir, both of Kenya, in 2:08:22 and 2:22:39 respectively; both athletes received $100,000 for winning their events. The wheelchair races were won by Marcel Hug of Switzerland and Madison de Rozario of Australia, in 1:31:24 and 1:51:01 respectively; both athletes received $25,000 for winning their events.
Background
After the 2020 New York City Marathon was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[1] the 2021 race was confirmed in June 2021 by Governor of New YorkAndrew Cuomo.[2] It was held on its traditional date of the first Sunday in November.[2] It was the last of the five World Marathon Majors held in 2021; all of the events in the series were run in the space of six weeks between late September and early November.[3][a] The 2021 New York City Marathon was sponsored by Indian company Tata Consultancy Services.[5] The elite races had prize money of $100,000, $60,000 and $40,000 for the top three finishers, plus $25,000 for the highest finishing American competitor in each race.[6][7] The total prize fund was $534,000 for each elite race.[8] The wheelchair races awarded prize money of $25,000, $20,000 and $15,000 for the top three finishers in each event,[9] and a total prize fund of $155,000.[8]
Given the ongoing pandemic, the number of runners was limited to 33,000,[2] and competitors were required
to either prove that they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or to have had a recent negative COVID-19 test.[10] Competitors were required to wear face coverings when not racing,[11] and started in five different timeslots, to minimize crowding on the course.[12]
After a short time in Queens, the race crosses the Queensboro Bridge at mile 14 (22.5 km),[16] and enters Manhattan[15] where competitors run north on First Avenue for 3 miles (4.8 km).[15][17] The runners cross the Willis Avenue Bridge, where they enter The Bronx[18] for 2 miles (3.2 km) from mile 19 (30.6 km).[16] The course then re-enters Manhattan via the Madison Avenue Bridge[18] for the final 6.2 miles (10.0 km).[15] After running through Harlem, there is a slight uphill section along Fifth Avenue before it flattens out and runs parallel to Central Park. The course then enters the park around mile 24, passes Columbus Circle at mile 25 and re-enters the park for the finish.[15][17]
The wheelchair races started at 08:00 EST (13:00 UTC), the handcycle event commenced at 08:22 EST, the elite women's race began at 08:40 EST and the elite men's competition commenced at 09:05 EST.[33] The race conditions were sunny with a cool temperature,[34] and light wind,[7] which helped enable fast races.[7] The temperature was officially recorded as 44 °F (7 °C) at the race start and 52 °F (11 °C) at the finish line.[35]
The elite women's race was won by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, ahead of fellow Kenyan Viola Cheptoo and Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh.[7] It was the first time that any woman had won the Olympic and New York City Marathons in the same year.[36] Jepchirchir took control of the race after 18 miles (29 km), but Jepchirchir, Cheptoo and Yeshaneh were still together as the race headed into Central Park.[7] Jepchirchir finished in the third fastest time in history; she was nine seconds slower than the course record. Cheptoo and Yeshaneh's times were the fourth and sixth fastest times in history respectively.[7] Molly Seidel finished fourth overall; her time of 2:24:42 was the fastest ever by an American woman at the New York City Marathon,[7] beating Kara Goucher's time in the 2008 race by over a minute.[37]Shalane Flanagan finished her sixth World Marathon Major of the year (including the virtual Tokyo Marathon),[37] each one in a time of under three hours.[36]
The elite men's event was won by Kenyan Albert Korir, ahead of Moroccan Mohamed El Araby and Italian Eyob Faniel.[6] It was Korir's first victory at a World Marathon Major.[38] El Araby and Faniel took the lead early in the race, and at the halfway point, they were 51 seconds ahead of a chasing group containing Korir. 18 miles (29 km) into the race, the pair were caught by Korir and Kibiwott Kandie, and Korir took the lead 2 miles (3.2 km) later.[6] American Elkanah Kibet finished fourth overall, and won $25,000 for being the highest finishing American competitor.[6]
The wheelchair women's event was won by Australian Madison de Rozario, the first time that the event had been won by an Australian.[9] It was also the first time that a woman had won the Paralympic and New York City marathons in the same year.[39] De Rozario, Manuela Schär and Tatyana McFadden traded the lead early on.[9] Schär was dropped from the leading group after 30 kilometres (19 mi),[37] and de Rozario took the race lead on the Queensboro Bridge.[9] McFadden and Schär finished the race in second and third respectively.[9]
The wheelchair men's event was won by Switzerland's Marcel Hug; it was his fourth New York City Marathon victory,[36][9] and his fourth World Marathon Major victory of 2021.[36] Hug led the race throughout; after 20 kilometres (12 mi), he had a lead of three minutes over Briton David Weir,[9] and was on track to beat the course record.[37] Hug eventually won by over 6 minutes, ahead of Weir and Daniel Romanchuk, who finished second and third respectively.[9] Hug's finishing time was slower than the course record, as he lost time on hilly sections in the latter half of the race.[37]
Non-elite race
The mass participation event commenced in five waves between 09:10 and 12:00 EST.[33] Around 30,000 people competed in the mass participation event,[38] of whom 25,020 finished.[40] The first 8 miles (13 km) of the mass participation event were run on three different courses to prevent overcrowding.[8]