Yeman Crippa’s thirteen extra seconds at the New York Marathon

There can be no disappointment at having been a key player in the world’s most famous and well-attended marathon on the day the ‘Five Boroughs’ race – which crosses the entire city from Staten Island to Central Park – celebrated its 50th anniversary. It was a fast race, so much so that the winner equalled the fourth-fastest time ever recorded and Crippa clocked the fifth-fastest. With this second-place finish, Crippa has automatically qualified for the marathon at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “I can’t deny that when we entered the park and there were just three of us left, I thought I might even win, but when Almegren surged 800 metres from the finish, I realised it wasn’t going to happen – I couldn’t keep up with him. Even though this was his first marathon, his personal best in the half-marathon is one minute and twenty seconds faster than mine. He’s stronger today, but I’ve got nothing to reproach myself for. I’m happy with the race I ran, and qualifying for Los Angeles is important.” In short, you can win the world’s most iconic marathon even without having run one before; you can win even if you’re white and European, leaving Kenyans and Ethiopians off the podium. Kamohelo Mofolo from Lesotho came third.

Over the last 30 years, Almegren is only the third European to win the New York Marathon; he was preceded by the last Italian to win here, Giacomo Leone in 1996, and the Dutchman, born in Somalia, Abdi Nageeye in 2024. There had not been two Europeans on the podium since 1988, when Salvatore Bettiol finished second behind the Briton Steve Jones.

“It was a fantastic experience. Regardless of the result, I realised just how unique this marathon is. During the first part, I could feel all the support from the crowd – a real roar – but then, when I returned to Manhattan after the Bronx, I was too focused on my race and completely shut everything else out,” Yeman Crippa told Il Foglio. He had won in Paris this year, but his first Major (New York, London, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Sydney) two years ago in London, where he had to withdraw at the 30th kilometre after a brilliant start. 

In the evening, after a week of rice and chicken, the team finally enjoyed an American dinner—a steak. The trickiest part was finding a place large enough to accommodate the entire team of sixteen people. On Monday, the Consul General in New York, Cesare Pastorelli, in collaboration with the CONI delegate in the United States, Mico Licastro, invited the athlete to the Consulate on Park Avenue to celebrate this excellent result. However, attention is already turning to next year. “We need to choose a spring marathon, between March and May, on a fast course,” Massimo Pegoretti, the coach, explained to Il Foglio, “a crucial step towards improving our performance, perhaps regaining the Italian record, and also to prepare as well as possible for the World Championships in Tokyo.”

Giovanna Epis put in an excellent performance in the women’s race, finishing eleventh, in an event that saw Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui – who had won two years ago – return to victory. As has been the case for years now, the Italians were the largest group amongst the foreign participants, numbering over 2,200. In the past, as many as 3,000 (3,123 in 2018) Italians have taken part in this marathon, but even though we have now reached almost 60,000 starters, for Italians – and for all Europeans in general – New York has become a financially demanding trip: between flights, accommodation, food and, above all, the cost of the race number, which is almost impossible to purchase unless you go through authorised travel agencies selling ‘all-inclusive’ packages.

After celebrating yesterday’s derby victory in the pub where AC Milan fans were gathering, Massimo Ambrosini completed his marathon in 3 hours, 26 minutes and 24 seconds – an excellent time for an amateur: only in Valencia, back in 2019, had he been faster. Linus DJ, who returned to New York fifteen years after his last appearance on the streets of the Big Apple, finished in 4:30:19—about an hour slower than when he was a regular on these streets—but was satisfied nonetheless. 

Giacomo Poretti arrived after dark, having walked 42 kilometres and 195 metres, accompanied by his trainer Simone Leo, who is no stranger to running ultra-marathons covering hundreds of kilometres. They crossed the finish line after eight hours and forty minutes. Naturally, many of the 2,200 Italians there recognised him, cheered him on, took photos of him and stopped him for a selfie: “I still can’t quite believe what I’ve achieved at the age of seventy,” he said after crossing the line, with his medal round his neck.