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2024 New York City Marathon Elite Field Announced: Tamirat Tola, Hellen Obiri To Defend Titles After Olympic Medals

By Chris Chavez

August 20, 2024

New York Road Runners has announced its elite field for the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon taking place on Sunday, Nov. 3rd. The field features numerous athletes who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including defending men’s champion and Olympic gold medalist Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia and defending women’s champion and Olympic bronze medalist Hellen Obiri of Kenya.

Men’s Elite Field Notables

– Tola returns a year after breaking the New York City Marathon course record in 2:04:58 and looks to become the first man since Geoffrey Mutai (2011/2013) to win back-to-back titles (The 2012 edition was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy). Tola was a late addition to the Ethiopian Olympic team in Paris after an injury sidelined Tola’s training partner and Boston Marathon champion Sisay Lemma. Tola broke the Olympic record on an arduous and hilly course with his 2:06:26 victory.

Tamirat Tola winning the 2023 NYC MarathonTamirat Tola winning the 2023 NYC Marathon

Photo by Kevin Morris / @Kevmofoto

– Belgium’s Bashir Abdi, who took silver behind Tola, will also be part of the New York elite field.

– The fastest personal best in the men’s field is 2:03:00 held by 2022 New York City Marathon champion Evans Chebet. He withdrew from last year’s race and was unable to defend his title due to injury.

Conner Mantz (8th in the Olympic marathon in 2:08:12) and Clayton Young (9th in the Olympic marathon in 2:08:44) are the top Americans entered. This will be both athletes’ New York City Marathon debuts.

Women’s Elite Field Notables

– Obiri won last year’s race with a final 400m sprint in Central Park and became the first woman in 34 years to win the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon in the same calendar year. Earlier this spring, she defended her Boston Marathon title in April. Obiri ran 2:23:10 in Paris despite falling twice and missing two drink stations, which forced her to stop and throw up at one point. She has now medaled at the last three Olympics – silver in the 5000m at the Rio Olympics, silver in the 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics, and bronze in the marathon at the Paris Olympics.

Sharon Lokedi, who won the 2022 New York City Marathon in her debut, returns after running a personal-best 2:23:14 for fourth place at the Paris Olympics. She was in contention for a medal until Obiri made a late break with a mile to go.

2023 NYC Marathon, Women's Elite Field2023 NYC Marathon, Women's Elite Field

Photo by Kevin Morris / @Kevmofoto

– The fastest personal best in the field belongs to Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui, who ran 2:17:29 when she finished third at the 2022 Valencia Marathon and then ran 2:17:49 for second place at last year’s Berlin Marathon behind Tigist Assefa’s 2:11:53 world record.

– No, this is not 2008. Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot, who together have won a 26 combined World and Olympic titles on the track and in cross country, are racing head-to-head for the first time since the 2018 London Marathon (Cheruiyot won; Dibaba was a DNF.)

Dibaba is 38 years old and looking for her first marathon finish since running 2:18:55 at the 2018 Berlin Marathon. She ran 31:04 for 10K on the roads in Madrid in June. Cheruiyot is 40 years old and ran 2:21:46 for third place in April’s Paris Marathon.

– The American field for this year’s race includes Dakotah Lindwurm coming off a 2:26:44, 12th place finish in the Olympic marathon. She is a guest on this week’s CITIUS MAG Podcast and shares that her A-goal for New York would be to get on the podium.

Jess McClain, who finished fourth in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and the 10,000m at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, is also slated to race. She was flown out to Paris by USA Track and Field as the alternate but did not end up running. U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials champion Fiona O'Keeffe was injured but decided to race and dropped out of the race before 5K. This is McClain’s debut at a World Marathon Major.

Here are the full fields for the New York City Marathon:

WOMEN

🇰🇪 Sheila Chepkirui, 2:17:29

🇪🇹 Tirunesh Dibaba, 2:17:56

🇰🇪 Vivian Cheruiyot, 2:18:31

🇪🇹 Senbere Teferi, 2:19:21

🇪🇹 Dera Dida, 2:19:24

🇰🇪 Edna Kiplagat, 2:19:50

🇧🇭 Eunice Chumba, 2:20:02

🇰🇪 Hellen Obiri, 2:21:38

🇺🇸 Des Linden, 2:22:38

🇰🇪 Sharon Lokedi, 2:22:45

🇲🇦 Fatima Gardadi, 2:24:12

🇺🇸 Kellyn Taylor, 2:24:29

🇨🇭 Fabienne Schlumpf, 2:24:30

🇺🇸 Aliphine Tuliamuk, 2:24:37

🇺🇸 Dakotah Lindwurm, 2:24:40

🇬🇧 Lily Partridge, 2:25:12

🇺🇸 Jessica McClain, 2:25:46

🇺🇸 Tristin Van Ord, 2:25:58

🇲🇳 Khishigasaikhan Galbadrakh, 2:26:32

🇺🇸 Maggie Montoya, 2:28:07

🇺🇸 Katja Goldring, 2:29:01

🇺🇸 Savannah Berry, 2:29:13

🇺🇸 Jessa Hanson, 2:31:02

🇵🇷 Beverly Ramos, 2:31:10

🇺🇸 Jenny Simpson, 2:31:39

🇺🇸 Carrie Ellwood, 2:31:54

🇺🇸 Sarah Reiter, 2:31:58

🇺🇸 Briana Boehmer, 2:33:20

🇺🇸 Lucy Dobbs, 2:36:33

🇺🇸 Holly Clarke, 2:36:52

🇺🇸 Aileen Barry, 2:39:48

🇺🇸 Ana Johnson, 2:41:16

MEN

🇰🇪 Evans Chebet, 2:03:00

🇹🇿 Gabriel Geay, 2:03:00

🇧🇪 Bashir Abdi, 2:03:36

🇪🇹 Tamirat Tola, 2:03:39

🇰🇪 Geoffrey Kamworor, 2:04:23

🇳🇱 Abdi Nageeye, 2:04:45

🇪🇹 Addisu Gobena, 2:05:01

🇰🇪 Abel Kipchumba, 2:06:49

🇰🇪 Albert Korir, 2:06:57

🇺🇸 Conner Mantz, 2:07:47

🇺🇸 Clayton Young, 2:08:00

🇨🇦 Rory Linkletter, 2:08:01

🇬🇧 Callum Hawkins, 2:08:14

🇲🇳 Ser-Od Bat-Ochir, 2:08:50

🇺🇸 Elkanah Kibet, 2:09:07

🇺🇸 Noah Droddy, 2:09:09

🇬🇧 Jonny Mellor, 2:09:09

🇺🇸 Jared Ward, 2:09:25

🇺🇸 Colin Bennie, 2:09:38

🇺🇸 Futsum Zienasellassie, 2:09:40

🇺🇸 CJ Albertson, 2:09:53

🇺🇸 Nico Montanez, 2:09:55

🇯🇵 Yuma Morii, 2:09:59

🇺🇸 Jake Riley, 2:10:02

🇺🇸 Teshome Mekonen, 2:10:16

🇰🇪 Wesley Kiptoo, 2:10:28

🇺🇸 Joel Reichow, 2:10:37

🇺🇸 Josh Izewski, 2:11:09

🇺🇸 Frank Lara, 2:11:32

🇬🇧 Luke Cadwell, 2:11:33

🇺🇬 Harbert Okuti, 2:13:01

🇺🇸 Jonny Phillips, 2:14:11

🇺🇸 Ryan Eiler, 2:14:22

🇺🇸 Ryan Ford, Debut

Chris Chavez

Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.