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The charm of the Big Apple did not distract Yeman Crippa, who took second place in the most famous and popular 42 kilometer race in the world behind the Swede Andreas Almgren. The Italian athlete, winner of the Paris marathon in the spring, only lost in the last 400 meters to the Swede, the European 10,000 champion who achieved his goal of winning in his first experience of the classic distance, with a time of 2h06’01”. Crippa arrived 13 seconds later, obtaining the best placing for an Italian in New York in the last 30 years, when Giacomo Leone won in 1996. The 21-year-old from Lesotho Kamohelo Mofolo then took third place from Kenyan Benson Kipruto, winner last year. New York was once again the great stage for a unique race this year, with 60 thousand participants (but there were 240 thousand aspirants) of whom well over two thousand were Italian and as per the fifty-year tradition it crossed all five districts of the city (Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Manhattan) to reach the finish line in Central Park. Crippa led the entire race in the leading group, with a maximum gap from the leadership of less than three seconds.
After the 35th kilometer the pace picked up, with Kipruto bringing with him the American Zouhair Talbi, the Italian and Almgren but then the first two lost pace and the Europeans found themselves alone to play for the victory, decided by the Swede’s lunge in the last 400 metres. The New York marathon hadn’t seen two Europeans in the first two places since 1988. Almgren, who until last January had not achieved any prestigious victory on the international stage, closed a golden 2026 in the best possible way, winning the 10,000 meters at the European Championships and then the half marathon world title. At 31, he is looking to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where he is aiming for a 10,000m/marathon double. In the women’s race, Giovanna Epis achieved eleventh place with the season record (2h28’55”), with the victory going to the Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui Kiprotich (2h24’36”) after a long head-to-head with her compatriot Hellen Obiri, winner last year, who lost second place near the finish line in favor of the American Jessica McClain.
Crippa: “I made a dream come true”
«I achieved what I dreamed of in recent months, getting on the podium of a Major is something special». The words are those of Yeman Crippa, extraordinary second place in the New York marathon, seventh and final stage of the 2026 World Marathon Majors circuit. The blue on the streets of the Big Apple was preceded only by the Swede Andreas Almgren. “A second place like this, behind a phenomenon like Almgren, means a lot – said the Trentino runner – in recent years there have been problems, difficulties in adapting to the marathon but I didn’t have to give up and now the satisfactions are coming back to me”. Speaking about the match, the Fiamme Oro athlete explained: «When there were three of us left, I did the action and there were two of us left because I thought, ‘I can try to put him in difficulty again, but he (Almgren, ed.) was doing too well».
Second place in New York for Massimo Pegoretti’s pupil has the flavor of redemption after the disappointments of last season, retirement in London and retirement after 30 km at the Tokyo World Championships. At the finish line in Central Park there were Pegoretti together with his father Roberto, his girlfriend Sofia and his manager Gianni Demadonna, second in New York in 1987. «I came second but for the next one I have to get my feet back on the ground, I still can’t give the marathon a thumbs up, you have to run humble to be able to get the most out of it every time», said Yeman who will now remain in the United States for a holiday period between Philadelphia, Washington and Florida. «I want to take advantage of the marathons before the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games to gain even more experience, to become an even better marathon runner. I will be 32 years old and I see that those who do ‘temponì now are getting older”, concluded Crippa.