Hellen Obiri wins New York City Women's Marathon

Kenyan marathon Hellen Obiri and her compatriots after a clean sweep in the New York Marathon on November 2, 2025./SCREENGRAB

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri has won the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon, breaking the 22-year-old course record with a time of 2:19:51.

The previous record of 2:22:31 was set in 2003 by Kenya’s Margaret Okayo.

Obiri delivered a strong performance in the final stretch, maintaining her pace to secure back-to-back victories in New York and cement her status among the world’s top marathon runners.

Obiri was running with 2022 winner Sharon Lokedi until she pulled away from her countrymate in the final mile, surging ahead and winning easily, besting the previous course record set by Okayo in 2003.

Obiri used a 4:58 final mile to drop Boston champion Lokedi, taking 2+ minutes off the 22-year-old course record in the process.

Fellow Kenyans completed a historic podium sweep. Sharon Lokedi finished second in 2:20:07, while Sheila Chepkirui claimed third place in 2:20:24.

Obiri is a long-distance runner and one of the world’s most accomplished athletes. She has won major global titles on the track, in cross-country, and in road running. Obiri is a two-time world champion in the 5,000 metres and an Olympic silver medalist.

She later transitioned to marathon running, where she quickly rose to elite status. Obiri is known for her strong finishing kick, mental toughness, and consistency across different running surfaces ((track, road, and cross-country).

Her shift to marathon running has seen her achieve success in some of the most prestigious global road races. Lokedi is a two-time major marathon winner (2022 New York and 2025 Boston) and major marathon silver medalist (2024 Boston), while Chepkirui is a 2016 5000 African Champion, Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, and World U18 champion.

The TCS New York City Marathon takes place every year in New York City. The race covers 42.195 km (26.2 miles) and runs through all five boroughs of the city—Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan—before finishing in Central Park.

The marathon attracts elite professional athletes, recreational runners, charity teams, and tens of thousands of participants from around the world.

Winning the New York City Marathon is considered one of the highest honours in long-distance running. Because of the course’s bridges, hills, and crowds, it is known to be challenging but also extremely exciting and prestigious.