Andreas Almgren had a marathon debut to remember on Sunday as the Swede won the New York City Marathon men's division, clocking in a time of 2:06:01.
“I’ve probably never felt so emotional after a race ever,” said Almgren after the race. “With 5k left I felt like I had the legs today … I saw I had a pretty big gap [near the end of the race] and thought: ‘OK, just enjoy these last few hundred meters’, because this is not something a lot of people get to experience.”
The 31-year-old had first sparked headlines after setting a European half-marathon record in September this year and not many expected him to have such an impact on the event.
But with one mile left, he pulled away from the defending champion Kipruto and built a comfortable lead.
“This is my first marathon. I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel,” said an elated Almgren.
According to Runner's World, Almgren's specialisation was always in track and shorter road events. However, he switched to full marathons earlier this year.
He won bronze at the World Junior Championships in 2014, emerging as the new 800-meter specialist. He was coached by Urban Aruhn for close to a decade, but around 2019, he began developing his own plans and training methods.
Before taking up running as a professional career, the Swede, who has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management, was employed at a financial company as a risk analyst. He was also involved as a data scientist at the sports-tech software company Svexa. At the 2024 Olympics, he was sidelined with a stress fracture, which led to him quitting his job and focusing on running full-time.
Focus on marathon running
{{/usCountry}}Before taking up running as a professional career, the Swede, who has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management, was employed at a financial company as a risk analyst. He was also involved as a data scientist at the sports-tech software company Svexa. At the 2024 Olympics, he was sidelined with a stress fracture, which led to him quitting his job and focusing on running full-time.
Focus on marathon running
{{/usCountry}}Speaking of how he chose to participate in the New York Marathon, Almgren stated that he chose the event because it gave him ample opportunity to avoid sacrificing a full track season before diving into marathon training.
For the New York Marathon, Almgren prepared with an altitude stint in Flagstaff, Arizona, which is 7,000 feet above sea level. His training methods also involved cycling and speed skating. Moreover, he was also introduced to heat training during some of his training blocks.
“In a time trial, I wouldn’t really know what time to aim for,” Almgren said.
“There’s a big risk that I blow up. If I’m going in Valencia, you have Yomif [Kejelcha] and John Korir taking off in probably sub-two-hour pace, and I’m not going to follow that. So I think that New York is a better race for me with inexperience, just trying to stay in the front pack and see what can happen," he told Runner's World before the race.
Almgren is now looking forward to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. A top five finish in the New York Marathon would have been enough for him to earn the Olympic standard and pave the way for a spot on the Swedish marathon team. And now he's won the event.