New York City Marathon 2026: Marcel Hug Wins His Eighth Wheelchair Title in 1:28:14, Beating Daniel Romanchuk by One Second
The first champions of marathon Sunday in New York are the wheelchair racers: Switzerland's Marcel Hug, 'The Silver Bullet,' took his eighth New York City Marathon men's wheelchair title in 1:28:14, edging three-time champion Daniel Romanchuk by 1.13 seconds in the closest wheelchair finish in the event's history — while the elite road races, on the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course, were still unfolding.
Marathon Sunday in New York has its first champion, and he is a familiar one. Switzerland's Marcel Hug won his eighth New York City Marathon men's wheelchair title on Sunday, crossing in Central Park in 1 hour, 28 minutes, 14 seconds and edging American Daniel Romanchuk by just 1.13 seconds, according to the FloTrack account of the finish and the USA Today marathon live file, both read this cycle, citing preliminary New York Road Runners results. The rivals traded the lead across the 26.2 miles — Hug held a 20-second advantage at 5 kilometers, Romanchuk closed it by 10K, and the two were separated by less than a second at 20K, 25K, 30K and 40K, per FloTrack — before Hug, 40, nicknamed 'The Silver Bullet,' made his final push in the last 100 meters, per USA Today. Romanchuk, a three-time New York champion, finished in 1:28:15.
Hug's eight New York titles extend his own record for the men's wheelchair division — his previous wins came in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023 and last year, per the USA Today file. The women's wheelchair race brought back its own storyline: Susannah Scaroni, the defending champion, returned as a surprise entrant after giving birth to a baby boy in August, chasing a third consecutive New York crown and a fourth in five years, per the same file; her final result had not been confirmed in the sources read at this cycle's filing time, and the desk carries it when the official results settle. The professional wheelchair winners receive $50,000 apiece, per FloTrack's race file.
The road races behind them carry the day's bigger fields. This year's marathon marks the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course, first run on October 24, 1976, and runs with its first course change in 15 years, per the USA Today file — the same course this station previewed in SQ-20261101-019, which promised a winners file when the elite races finish. More than 60,000 runners from 140 countries were expected, after a record 59,226 finishers in 2025, per the file; all four of last year's professional champions returned to defend, including men's champion Benson Kipruto — who won in 2025 by 0.16 seconds, the smallest margin in the event's history — and women's champion Hellen Obiri, who broke the course record in 2:19:51. American record-holder Conner Mantz led the men's elite field at 15K in 45:51, per FloTrack's live updates. The desk's full winners file follows when the elite results are official.
