Shalane Flanagan ended a 40-year drought for American women in the open division at the New York City Marathon by seizing the crown in 2017 from defending champion Mary Keitany of Kenya with a time of 2:26:53. With her first victory in just her second appearance at the New York City Marathon—she was the runner-up in her marathon debut in 2010—Flanagan became the sixth U.S. women’s open champion in the event and recorded the second-fastest time by a U.S. woman in the race. She returned in 2018 to take third, bettering her time in 2:26:22.

Flanagan is a 16-time national champion and a three-time Olympian. At the Beijing 2008 Olympics, she won a silver medal in the 10,000 meters, becoming only the second American woman to win an Olympic medal in the event.