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Kiplimo, the world half marathon record holder, was dominant especially in the second half of the race, running solo for the final three kilometres to break the tape at 1:01:31, 38 seconds ahead of Cheptegei.
Jacob Kiplimo braved the cold winter cold as he cruised to victory at the 2023 New York Half Marathon, beating compatriot Joshua Cheptegei who grabbed silver on Sunday.
It was the second time Kiplimo and Cheptegei faced each other in the half marathon, and the first time they each raced in New York.
And while Kiplimo once again showed his nifty potential over the 13.1 mile distance with victory, Cheptegei who has ambitions of switching from track to the roads later in his career will be buoyed by his podium finish.
Cheptegei’s previous experience running the half marathon saw him finish fourth in Gydnia, Poland in 2020.
Kiplimo, the world half marathon record holder, was dominant especially in the second half of the race, running solo for the final three kilometres to break the tape at 1:01:31, 38 seconds ahead of Cheptegei.
British Chris Thompson set the agenda for the race early on, going ahead of the field from the start, with Kiplimo and Cheptegei carrying with them the chasing group.
Halfway through the course, Thompson was caught, but stayed with the group up to the 15 km mark where the lead pack was whittled down further to only three runners.
Morocco’s Taibi Zouhair - who finished third stayed with Kiplimo and Cheptegei as the front three picked up pace. Kiplimo eventually went on a solo run, first dumping Zouhair and then Cheptegei as they hit the 18 km mark.
Kiplimo, who had won gold at the World Cross Country championships 29 days ago ran a strong final mile of 4:19.
Kenya’s Hellen Obiri dominated the women’s race, breaking the course record by 11 seconds, stopping the clock at 1:07:21. Ethiopian Senbere Telfei finished second at 1:07:55 with Great Britain’s Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal running 1:09:53.
Kiplimo and Obiri will both bag USD 20,000 (approx. UGX 73.8 million) for their respective victories, with Cheptegei banking USD 10,000 ( approx. 38 million).
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