Swedish runner wins New York marathon in 2:06:01

A 31-year-old Swede crossed the finish line in New York in two hours, six minutes and one second on Saturday. Andreas Almgren secured his first marathon victory with that time.

Almgren beat Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa by 13 seconds. Kamohelo Mofolo from Lesotho finished in third place, arriving 12 seconds behind Crippa. The result made Almgren the first European-born man to win the race in 30 years. The previous winner was Giacomo Leone of Italy in 1996.

The win capped a strong year for the athlete. He captured gold in the 10,000 meters at the European Athletics Championships in August. He then set a new European half-marathon record in September.

Almgren said he felt strong during the race. "I just thought, 'I've got the legs today'," he said. "I'm about to start crying. It's better than anything I could have ever imagined."

In the women's race, Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya took second place in the title. The 35-year-old finished in 2:24:36. She beat American Jessica McClain by six seconds. Hellen Obiri of Kenya finished one second behind McClain.

Chepkirui noted that the final stretch required careful pacing. "The last mile was really tricky and I had to be patient because I knew Hellen was really strong," she said. "I had to really push up to the finish line."

The event marked the 50th anniversary of the New York Marathon. The course runs through all five New York City boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan.