NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 19 – Kenyan Evans Chebet returns to the 2025 New York City Marathon on November 2, this time seeking to reclaim the men’s title after a second-place finish last year.
However, the 36-year-old will have to battle stiff competition in a deep field that includes the defending champion Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, who beat him by six seconds to claim his first-ever world major win.
Other worthy Kenyan competitors are Paris Olympic bronze medallist, Benson Kipruto, who is the fastest (2:02:16) man in the list – a time he ran at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon, where he set a course record, 2025 London Marathon third place finisher Alexander Munyao, who will be making his debut at New York, 2021 champion Albert Korir, who came third in last year and Abel Kipchumba who finished eighth.
The Kenyans will take on Ethiopian Deresa Geleta, who finished second at this year’s Tokyo Marathon.
Chebet, who trains in Kapsabet, won the New York Marathon title in 2022 and will be seeking revenge and become the third Kenyan man to win the prestigious World Major event multiple times after John Kagwe and Geoffrey Kamworor.
In 2022, Chebet became the first man since 2011 to win the Boston Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon in the same year.
He returned to Boston the next year as an underdog—facing then world record holder Eliud Kipchoge—and successfully defended his title.
For Korir he has had much success in New York City, placing on the podium in four of his five TCS New York City Marathon appearances: finishing second in 2019, first in 2021, second in 2023, and third in 2024.
Kipruto, on the other hand, has finished on the podium in his last six Abbott World Marathon Majors appearances, including victories at the 2021 Boston Marathon, 2022 Chicago Marathon, and 2024 Tokyo Marathon.
After finishing in the top five at the 2021, 2022, and 2023 New York City Marathons, Nageeye rose to the top of the podium in 2024, winning his first Abbott World Marathon Majors title, outkicking former champions Chebet and Korir.
The Dutch record holder in the half-marathon and marathon, Nageeye, rose to prominence after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Marathon, where he won the silver medal.
“Winning my first Abbott World Marathon Majors title in New York last year was a dream come true,” said Nageeye. “Looking forward to November, I feel even more motivated to defend my title. I know the course and am excited for the energy of the crowd to propel me from Staten Island to Central Park.”
