Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Kenyans Hellen Obiri and Benson Kipruto will return to defend their titles at the TCS New York City Marathon, scheduled for November 1, 2026. Obiri set a new course record last year with a time of 2:19:51, improving it by nearly three minutes, while Kipruto won a close men’s race in 2:08:09, narrowly defeating Alexander Mutiso by sixteen hundredths of a second.
Obiri will face a strong field including Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, 2024 New York Marathon winner Sheila Chepkirui, 2022 world champion Gotytom Gebreslase, and 2025 world bronze medallist Julia Paternain. Hassan, who has the fastest personal best among the entrants at 2:13:44, is returning after finishing sixth in her 2025 New York debut. Hassan stated she has prepared more thoroughly this year after injury recovery and aims to be competitive.
Weini Kelati, the North American half marathon record-holder, will make her marathon debut. Other notable entrants include Violah Cheptoo, Edna Kiplagat, Fiona O'Keeffe, and Fabienne Königstein, among others.
In the men’s race, Kipruto will compete against former New York City Marathon champions Geoffrey Kamworor (2017, 2019) and Abdi Nageeye (2024), as well as US record-holder Conner Mantz, Tokyo Marathon runner-up Deresa Geleta, 2024 Berlin Marathon runner-up CyBrian Kotut, world bronze medallist Iliass Aouani, and 2024 Boston and Chicago runner-up Mohamed Esa. European record-holder Andreas Almgren, a 2025 world 10,000m bronze medallist, will also make his marathon debut.
Kipruto expressed enthusiasm about defending his title in New York, appreciating the marathon's unique atmosphere and acknowledging the strong competition he will face.