La United Airlines NYC Half 2023 da la bienvenida a casi 25,000 personas en las calles de la ciudad
Nearly 25,000 runners of all ages and abilities took to the streets of New York City at the 16th United Airlines NYC Half.
The final day of winter 2023 was appropriately wintry, with temperatures below freezing and breezy conditions throughout the 13.1-mile course from Brooklyn to Central Park.
Susannah Scaroni, Jetze Plat, Hellen Obiri, and Jacob Kiplimo broke the tapes, while hundreds of youth runners ages 8–18 took part in the 1500-meter Times Square Kids Run at the United Airlines NYC Half.
Despite the cold, times were blazing fast at the front, with Obiri breaking the women’s open event record by 14 seconds in 1:07:21, and Plat pushing to a fast time of 48:28 on this challenging course in his first-ever half-marathon. The pro field featured Olympic and Paralympic medalists, former event champions, and world and national record-holders.
For Obiri, a Kenyan two-time Olympic medalist and seven-time world championships medalist, today’s race was about the victory. “I tried to push myself,” she said. “After 15K I was able to pull away, but it was windy. All I wanted for today was a win.” Defending champion Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia was second in 1:07:55.
Kiplimo, the half-marathon world record-holder (57:31), became the first Ugandan champion of the United Airlines NYC Half with his winning time of 1:01:31, besting compatriot Joshua Cheptegei by 38 seconds. “It was cold, but I did my best,” Kiplimo said. His victory at the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships last month set him up for success today, he added.
Plat, of the Netherlands, had finished third at the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon, and loved coming back to NYC. “I knew the course would be hard, but also beautiful,” he said. “It was cool to come back and race here.” Defending champion Daniel Romanchuk of the United States took second.
Scaroni celebrated her second United Airlines NYC Half win today; she previously won in 2017. “It’s nice to be able to be here and that just makes me happy,” she said. “I don’t take racing for granted.” Scaroni recovered from a serious training accident in 2021 to win the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon. Manuela Schär of Switzerland, the United Airlines NYC Half defending champion, was today’s runner-up.
Congratulations to the 2023 #UnitedNYCHalf winners!
— New York Road Runners (@nyrr) March 19, 2023
🥇Women’s Pro Wheelchair: @KenyanScaroni 🇺🇸 55:47
🥇Men’s Pro Wheelchair: @JetzePlat 🇳🇱 48:28
🥇Women’s Pro: @HellenObiri 🇰🇪 1:07:21 (event record)
🥇Men’s Pro: @jacobkiplimo2 🇺🇬 1:01:31 pic.twitter.com/6zZWzQFac1
The United Airlines NYC Half returned as an in-person event in 2022 after being canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. This year’s race had the most finishers since 2019. The course takes runners from Brooklyn to Manhattan’s Central Park, passing historic landmarks and diverse neighborhoods and taking in sweeping views before ending near the TCS New York City Marathon finish line.
Today’s events also a Commissioner's Cup race-within-a-race for members of the NYPD and FDNY. In addition, the Virtual United Airlines NYC Half saw thousands of runners around the world complete their 13.1 miles from March 11 to March 19.
The NYC Half began in 2006 as a race held in Manhattan in the summer. It became a spring event in 2010 and adopted a Brooklyn-to-Manhattan course in 2018.
“I’m thrilled to see a lot of first-time finishers, first-time half-marathoners,” said NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer on the ABC New York, Channel 7 broadcast. “I think it’s an incredibly accessible distance for people who want to accomplish something big.”
Check out 2023 United Airlines NYC Half and Times Square Kids Run - Stage 3 race results.