He came into the top eight and kept his word: Quinn Naert finished the New York Marathon in a good fifth place. The 34-year-old long-distance runner completed the 42 kilometers in two hours, 10 minutes and 25 seconds.
All about the Olympic Marathon in Paris. With that idea in mind, Quinn Naert chose the New York Marathon this fall. The race in the United States is not a fast meet like Berlin, Chicago or Rotterdam, but it features a more difficult course that is comparable to the Paris race.
Furthermore, Naert previously starred in The Big Apple. The West Flemish national finished eighth in 2017 with a time of 2 hours 13:21. Six years later, much has clearly changed. Meanwhile, Naert became European champion in Berlin (2018) and set his own personal marathon record this spring of 2:06:56.
With near-perfect preparation in the bag, Naert started in New York with his goal being a top-five finish. The competition was not quite as strong with Tamirat Toula (2022 world champion), Albert Korir (2021 New York winner) and Abdi Nagyi (Olympic vice champion).
Naert quickly settled into a large leading group in the marathon. When the candidates (Tola, Korir and Naghi) put in first gear at the halfway point, he did not fall into the trap. Naert continued to run at his own pace in a chasing group and split perfectly.
Eventually, a few more fell from the front, allowing Naert to advance further. While eighth place initially seemed to be the highest achievable, the West Flemish eventually ended up in a good fifth place after 42 kilometers.
Naert finished the race in 2 hours 10:25 minutes, putting him just over four minutes above his personal record, although that was not surprising given the nature of the course. The win in New York went to Kenyan Tola, who set a course record (2h04:58) by almost two minutes over Korir. Abdi Naji came in fourth place.
In the women’s race, Kenyan Helen Obiri won with a time of two hours and 27:23 hours. Second place went to Ethiopian Letesinbet Gedi, the world record holder in the 10,000 meters race, who finished the race in six seconds. Kenyan Sharon Lokedi finished third with a time of 2 hours and 27:33 hours.
“After the first New York Marathon, my urine turned fibrous brown”: Quinn Naert on the final straight to Paris 2024
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