Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner, both of Switzerland, won the men’s and women’s wheelchair races at the New York City Marathon on Sunday. Hug earned a record sixth victory at the New York course, while Debrunner set a record in her race debut.
Hug, whose nickname is Silver Bullet, won his third consecutive New York race in 1 hour, 25 minutes and 29 seconds, three seconds shy of the track record he set last year. He also surpassed Kurt Fearnley’s record of five career wins.
“It’s amazing,” Hug said on ESPN. “Right now I’m very, very tired. It was really hard. But I’m happy too.”
Debrunner ended a dominant 2023 by finishing in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 32 seconds, breaking the New York circuit record by more than three minutes.
Earlier this year, he won the Berlin and Chicago marathons, both on flat courses, compared to the hilly New York course. He set records in both races and a world record in Berlin.
He also won the title of highest score in the premier marathon series, which includes six races worldwide.
“I knew it was the hardest marathon and it was my first time,” Debrunner told ESPN after the race. “I left much earlier than expected and did the entire race alone. It means the world to me. I won the entire marathon series and that’s crazy. “It’s been a fairytale season.”
Just like last year, Hug was neck and neck with Daniel Romanchuk of the United States for the first few miles of the race. But as they drove through Brooklyn, Hug pulled away and was several minutes ahead at the halfway point. His dominant lead was maintained for the remainder of the course.
Although Romanchuk finished second in 1 hour, 30 minutes and 7 seconds on Sunday, he qualified for the U.S. team at next summer’s Paralympic Games in Paris. For the first time, the New York City Marathon also served as a qualifying race for the top two American finishers. Aaron Pike, the second-ranked American, also made the team.
Debrunner led almost from the start of the race on Staten Island. He had a one-minute lead in the first 10 miles of the race. At the halfway mark, her lead had ballooned to more than three minutes over Susannah Scaroni of the United States, who won the race in record time last year.
Manuela Schar of Switzerland finished second. Scaroni finished third, but qualified for the U.S. team for the Paralympics, as did five-time race winner Tatyana McFadden, who finished sixth.
Hug won $35,000 for finishing first in his division. Debrunner earned $35,000 for winning his division and another $50,000 for breaking the course record.
