2024 New York Marathon preview, full schedule, and how to watch the action live

Four months after conquering one of the hardest Olympic marathon courses in history at Paris 2024, three medallists from that race are set to close their season with another top-level run at the 2024 New York City Marathon on Sunday, 3 November.

The reigning Olympic men’s marathon champion Tamirat Tola, Belgium’s Bashir Abdi, and Kenyan Hellen Obiri, who was third in the women’s marathon at Paris 2024, are confirmed in a loaded elite field that will take the runners across the five boroughs.

The defending champion Tola is favourite in a men’s listing including past New York Marathoners Geoffrey Kamworor (2017 and 2019), Albert Korir (2021) and Evans Chebet (2022), all from Kenya.

In addition to the two immediate former winners of the New York Marathon in Obiri (2023) and Sharon Lokedi (2022), there’s an equally vast array of talented long-distance runners in the women’s event led by the evergreen Edna Kiplagat, and Olympic track champions Tirunesh Dibaba and Vivian Cheruiyot.

Here are the key things you need to know about who to watch, the schedule, and where to see the 2024 New York Marathon.

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Athletes to watch at the 2024 New York Marathon

Four former New York City Marathon winners to feature in deep men’s field

The men’s marathon features a mouth-watering line-up headed by 33-year-old Tola, the late replacement for Paris 2024 who won his country’s first Olympic men’s marathon gold in 24 years when he ran an Olympic record time of 2:06:26.

Tola was added to the Ethiopian team list after the withdrawal of injured Sisay Lemma, and he stepped in tremendously, becoming the first runner ever to win the Olympic, world, and New York marathons.

He returns to the Big Apple, where he broke the course record last year, seeking another career best and a fantastic end to his season. If he is successful in retaining his title, Tola, who pulled out of the 2024 London Marathon at the very end after setting a blistering pace in the first half of the race, will join Peres Jepchirchir as the only marathoners to have won Olympic gold and New York Marathon in the same year.

He will face tough opposition from Kamworor, the last man to defend his title at the New York Marathon course.

The Rio 2016 Olympian hasn’t lined up for a marathon since his comeback race at the 2023 London Marathon, where he finished second behind the late world record holder Kelvin Kiptum. An injury forced Kamworor, who trains in Kaptagat with double Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge, to pull out of this year’s London Marathon.

But there’s another East African man who could surprise the fancied Kenyans and Ethiopian. Abdi, the Somali born runner who represents Belgium, where he began running at the age of 16, has a desire to win his first major marathon. In Paris, he added Olympic silver after his bronze from the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021.

But they are not the only fresh cast of Paris 2024 Olympians who will be on parade in New York, NY, USA. There’s also the two Americans, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, who finished eighth and ninth respectively.

Top-level racing expected in the women’s New York Marathon race

The star-studded list of women marathoners in contention at this year’s New York race should make it a thrilling event to watch.

The double track world champion Obiri returns to the course of her marathon debut two years ago. Then, she finished sixth behind another debutant Lokedi, who she edged out for the bronze in Paris in August.

The 34-year-old had a previously unbeaten last season, winning the Boston and New York Marathons, and was crushed to have missed the Olympic gold, in her fourth appearance at the Games. She hopes to atone for that miss with a back-to-back win on 3 November.

Besides the Paris Olympians, there are the former track rivals Dibaba and Cheruiyot, both seeking a return to winning ways on the road. The Ethiopian triple Olympic gold medallist hasn’t started a marathon in six years. Her last marathon was the third place in Berlin in 2018.

Cheruiyot returned to the marathon after a four-year break, finishing third at the Paris city marathon last April. At 41, she will be among the oldest elites which also includes her 44-year-old countrywoman Kiplagat, who last won the race in 2010.

The American hopes at the Marathon Majors series event rest on 2018 Boston champ Des Linden, Aliphine Tuliamuk, and Rio bronze medallist Jenny Simpson.

2024 New York Marathon schedule

The 2024 New York Marathon will begin at 8:00 am New York time (Eastern Standard Time) on Sunday 3 November, with non-elite athletes starting in five different waves after the big names have begun their races.

Note, the clocks go back 1 hour in the early morning of 3 November, before the marathon begins, as Daylight Savings Time ends in North America.

EST is 5 hours behind UTC, so 8am in New York NY would be 1pm in London, UK.

• 8:00 am: Professional wheelchair division
• 8:22 am: Handcycle category and select athletes with disabilities
• 8:35 am: Elite women
• 9:05 am: Elite men
• 9:10 am: Wave 1
• 9:45 am: Wave 2
• 10:20 am: Wave 3
• 10:55 am: Wave 4
• 11:30 am: Wave 5

How to watch the 2024 New York Marathon

This year’s New York Marathon will be broadcast live from 8:00am to 11:30am on the New York tristate area live on WABC-TV Channel 7, in the rest of the U.S. on ESPN2, and around the world by various international broadcasters as listed below.

• Australia: Fox Sports/Kayo
• Canada: TSN
• China: SMG Sports
• Europe: Eurosport
• France: L'Equipe
• India: Eurosport
• Italy: RAI
• Japan: TV Asahi
• Mexico and Central America: ESPN International
• New Zealand: Sky
• South America and the Caribbean: ESPN International
• Southeast Asia: Eurosport
• Spain: TVE/Tv3
• Sub-Saharan Africa: SuperSport