Kenyan duo of Peres Jepchirchir, Albert Korir win 50th edition of New York City Marathon

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya capped a historic double Sunday morning.

Just three months after claiming gold at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Jepchirchir turned around and won the 50th edition of the New York City Marathon, emerging from a lead pack of three in the final mile to finish in 2:22:39.

Countryman Albert Korir won the men's race in dominant fashion, meanwhile, leaping into the air as he crossed the line with a time of 2:08:22.

While Korir had separated himself from the rest of the field by Mile 20, the women's race proved to be much tighter, with three women neck-and-neck entering the final mile – until Jepchirchir, 28, took off. She is now the first woman to win Olympic gold in the marathon, then win a major fall marathon thereafter.

"The only champion from (the) Olympics to win the New York City Marathon, it was a great opportunity for me," Jepchirchir said after the race. "It was my plan. Preparation was short, but I tried my best to see if I can fit (in) all my preparation. I thank God today."

Viola Cheptoo ended up finishing second, followed by Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia in third. Cheptoo, the younger sister of retired American marathoner Bernard Lagat, shared an emotional moment with her brother after the race; Lagat was working as a commentator for ESPN's television coverage of the event.

The women's race also featured a bit of American history as Molly Seidel, who won a surprising bronze at the Tokyo Olympics over the summer, broke the national course record by more than a minute.

Seidel finished fourth in what was just her fourth-ever marathon, with a time of 2:24:42. Afterward, she revealed she was competing with two broken ribs. 

Elkanah Kibet, who also placed fourth, was the top American finisher on the men's side with a time of 2:11:15.

The men's race came down to a series of strategic moves. At about the 10-mile mark, Eyob Faniel of Italy and Mohamed El Aaraby of Morocco took off from the crowd, eventually building a lead of nearly a minute on the rest of the field by the halfway point. By Mile 18, however, they had been caught. And by Mile 20, Korir had separated himself. He ended up winning by more than 44 seconds.

"I didn't imagine that I would win today," Korir said. "But this is not today. It begins from three months before, when I knew that I would be part of the New York City Marathon. This was (the byproduct of) all my training, and this is the result."

El Aaraby and Faniel finished second and third, respectively.

Sunday's race marked the 50th running of the New York City Marathon – an event that initially consisted of 127 people running laps around Central Park in 1970, with a $1 entry fee, but has since blossomed into one of the largest and most iconic road races in the world.

It was also a celebratory return to the streets of New York after last year's event was held virtually, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I've never experienced anything like that," said Seidel, who was competing in the event for the first time. "It was so cool going from neighborhood to neighborhood, and just seeing it change, and that energy and the number of people that were out. I think this is really just a testament to the city – being able to come back after a really, really tough year and show that the New York City Marathon is back."

Reigning Paralympic champion Marcel Hug of Switzerland dominated the men's wheelchair race, besting the rest of the field by more than six minutes with a time of 1:31:24.

Madison de Rozario of Australia also followed up a Paralympic gold with a win in New York, cruising to victory in the women's wheelchair race in 1:51:01. Paralympic legend Tatyana McFadden, meanwhile, finished second – her fifth consecutive podium finish at a major marathon this fall.

The other notable result of the day came from retired American Shalane Flanagan, who had set out to run six marathons in six weeks this fall, all under three hours. She saved her best time for last, recording a time of 2:33:32 in New York to achieve her goal.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.