50,000 runners set off on first full capacity NYC marathon since COVID
Over 50,000 participants laced up their running shoes for the 51st edition of the New York City Marathon on Sunday morning and began the 26.2-mile journey across all five boroughs.
The 2022 marathon is at full capacity for the first time since 2019 after it was canceled in 2020 and downsized in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.
This year’s race has drawn in a massive crowd with runners from 150 different countries.
The wheelchair and handcycle division races began just before 8 a.m., whereas professional women’s race began at 8:40, and the professional men’s race started at 9:05.
Streets have been closed all along the race route beginning at 7 a.m. and lasting throughout the race.
Officials have warned that unseasonably warm temperatures Sunday may impact runners, and have added additional misting stations throughout the course.
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug was first to cross the finish line Sunday, defending his title in the men’s wheelchair division and topping both his 2021 time and the course record. He finished at an 1 hour 25 minutes 26 seconds.
Hug will be awarded $50,000 extra for breaking the event record by four minutes in addition to the $25,000 first-place prize. This is his fifth time winning in New York and 17th time winning a World Marathon Major event.
Susanah Scaroni won the women’s professional wheelchair division for the first time, setting the course record after finishing in third in 2019 and missing the 2021 race. The 31-year-old finished at 1 hour 42 minutes 43 seconds.
This is a developing story.
