Hassan Returns to New York Armed with Lessons from a Punishing Debut

Olympic champion Sifan Hassan has learned just how unforgiving the TCS New York City Marathon course can be, and she believes that knowledge could prove crucial when she returns for the November 1 race alongside defending champion Hellen Obiri, as reported by The Straits Times.

The Dutch runner, who became the first woman to win Olympic medals in the marathon (gold), 5,000 metres (bronze) and 10,000 metres (bronze) at the same Games in Paris 2024, will return for her second New York appearance after a punishing debut last year.

"The course is very hard," Hassan said in a video call with media on Tuesday, according to The Straits Times. "The positive part was really the crowd was very loud. So next time I don't need that much caffeine when I run. New York last year really tested me. I pushed so hard and I suffered a lot."

Obiri clocked two hours, 19 minutes and 51 seconds to win last year's event, while Hassan struggled to finish sixth in 2:24.43. Obiri returns after lowering her personal best to a blistering 2:15.53 when she finished runner-up in London in April. The Kenyan, who made her marathon debut in New York in 2022 and then won there in 2023, is embracing the challenge that comes with arriving as champion, as reported by The Straits Times.

"New York has been like my home," Obiri said. "Of course, I'm coming here to defend my title and to run a good race."

Hassan said last year's experience had given her a better understanding of the demanding layout, according to The Straits Times. "Now whenever I think of New York, I know where it is hard," she said. "I can recognise all the New York Marathon, so it will be easier I think this year."

Last year, the 33-year-old won the Sydney Marathon two months before New York and said the short turnaround took its toll, as reported by The Straits Times. "The marathon humbles you," Hassan said. "Both (New York and Sydney) really humbled me."

She also described recovering from an Achilles injury that forced her to withdraw from this year's London Marathon, saying she took several months away from hard training before gradually rebuilding her fitness, according to The Straits Times.

Mantz and McClain Headline U.S. Contingent

American record holder Conner Mantz and Jess McClain, the fastest U.S. female marathoner since the Paris Olympics, headline the fields for the New York City Marathon on Nov. 1, the last major marathon of the year, as reported by NBC Sports. The top international entrants include Olympic gold medalist Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and defending champions Hellen Obiri and Benson Kipruto, both from Kenya.

The fields feature some of the early favorites for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on March 25, 2028, in St. Louis, where up to three men and three women will clinch spots on the team for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, as reported by NBC Sports.

Mantz, a 29-year-old from Utah, was the top American men's finisher at his last six marathons, including winning the 2024 Olympic Trials and at the Paris Olympics, where he placed eighth, according to NBC Sports. This will be his first marathon since he broke the American record in Chicago on Oct. 12, 2025, running 2:04:43. He withdrew three weeks before the April 20 Boston Marathon, saying his fitness did not progress well enough in the lead-up. He dealt with multiple injuries, including a sacral stress fracture, since his fourth-place finish in Chicago, as reported by NBC Sports.

"The injuries have definitely kind of changed how I'm heading into this build and doing it," he said, according to NBC Sports. "We're trying to be more cautious this go-round. I think for most of my marathons it's been, what's holding me back? What do I need to do to compete with the top guys? ... It's more of executing on race day and staying healthy than it is pushing all these workouts and mileage and everything. So I think, this particular build, based off these last 10 months of on-and-off injuries, the goal right now is really just let's get to the start line 100% healthy. Then see what happens. I think I'm competitive."

The men's field also includes Zouhair Talbi, a 2024 Olympian for Morocco who gained U.S. citizenship in 2025 and can represent the U.S. starting in 2027, making him eligible to race the Olympic Trials, as reported by NBC Sports. Talbi was the top American finisher (fifth) in the April 2025 Boston Marathon in 2:03:45, which was 58 seconds faster than Mantz's American record, though the Boston course is not record-eligible due to its point-to-point, net-downhill layout, according to NBC Sports.

Jess McClain went from fourth place at the 2024 Olympic Trials to being the highest-placing U.S. woman in the Boston Marathon in the last two years, and this year she ran the fastest Boston time ever for an American woman (2:20:49), placing fifth overall, as reported by NBC Sports. She missed the Olympic team for the Paris 2024 Games by 15 seconds at the Trials.

"I want to think bigger," McClain said, according to NBC Sports. "I want to get on the podium."

Fiona O'Keeffe and Weini Kelati are also in the women's field, as reported by NBC Sports. O'Keeffe won the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials in her 26.2-mile debut and was fourth in the 2025 New York City Marathon with a time of 2:22:49, the fastest ever for an American woman in the race, according to NBC Sports. She withdrew from the April 2025 Boston Marathon with a hamstring injury. Kelati, eighth in the 10,000m at the 2024 Olympics, will make her marathon debut at the New York race.

Benson Kipruto won last year's men's race in the closest finish in New York City Marathon history, beating Alexander Mutiso in a photo finish, as reported by The Straits Times. The men's field also includes Patrick Dever, who was third in his marathon debut in New York last year, according to NBC Sports.

Wheelchair Fields Feature Familiar Champions

The men's wheelchair field includes Marcel Hug, a seven-time New York City Marathon champion, and Daniel Romanchuk, a three-time champion, as reported by NBC Sports. Tatyana McFadden, a 22-time Paralympic medallist and five-time New York City Marathon champion, headlines the women's wheelchair field, according to both NBC Sports and The Straits Times.