Fifty years ago, the New York City Marathon left Central Park for the first time and ran through all five boroughs. On Sunday, the anniversary edition, it set a new world record for participation with 61,146 finishers. It was a popular celebration, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, wearing a yellow vest, volunteering to hand out water to the runners.
For the record, Yeman Crippa finished second among the Italians. Many familiar faces were at the start, including Ambrosini and Oddo, Linus and Dumoulin. Among the crowd was also a small group of Sardinians.

The fastest was Antonio Serreli, 46, from Sinnai, representing Atletica Maracalagonis , in his third major of 2026 after London and Berlin. He finished in 3:20:47, 4.824th overall and 170th among the 2,360 Italians.

Close behind was Gianluca Biolla , 55, from Terralba, running his 52nd marathon. He finished in 3:29:03, 6,952nd overall and 236th out of 2,107 in the 55-59 age group. He was joined by his partner , Patrizia Passerò , 53, from Arborea, who finished in 3:54:05, and celebrated a special milestone in New York. With this race, he completed the Abbott World Marathon Majors circuit and earned the medal that belongs to those who have run them all.

The Podistica Amatori Olbia team was strong. Tito Magliocchetti , 53, dipped under four hours with a time of 3:59:07. Agostino Casula finished second in 4:16:36 and Claudio Zicconi in 4:17:56. Giuseppina Farina , 63, put in an excellent performance in 4:29:01. Valentina Mette , making her debut in the 42 km, finished in 4:36:11, and Gesuino Ghiani in 4:39:20.

At his fourth marathon, Alessandro Scano , 53, from Decimoputzu, representing GS Runners Cagliari, finished in 4:03:04: "42 kilometers and only one certainty: the head is always stronger than the legs." On Saturday, the day before the race, he met Linus in Central Park, who was celebrating his birthday: "He told me that New York is not a race for time: it is an icon, a journey to be experienced from the first to the last meter." For Scano, the real victory was being there, "among the legendary bridges and a unique crowd in the world." And after the finish line, the magic continues: "You walk around with the medal around your neck and New Yorkers stop to say 'Congratulations!'." Thanks go to the family, to the friends of Decimoputzu, to the RunChallenge Cagliari Poetto and to his coach.