Dever targets championship test as Almgren joins 2026 New York field

Patrick Dever will return to the TCS New York City Marathon on November 1, choosing the race as a key step towards his long-term Olympic ambitions. Andreas Almgren will also line up, arriving after winning European 10,000m gold in Birmingham in a championship record of 27:23.44.

Dever finished fourth on his marathon debut in New York last year before moving up to third several weeks later. Albert Korir, who had crossed the line ahead of him, failed a drugs test, giving Dever his first World Marathon Major podium.

The British athlete considered racing the European Championships marathon in Birmingham but decided that the schedule would not allow enough recovery after London. The November race gives him more time to rest and prepare after running a personal-best 2:06:18 in London in April.

Dever also sees New York as an opportunity to develop skills that will be important in championship racing. Unlike his London marathon, the race will not use pacemakers, allowing him to practise making tactical decisions in a format closer to the conditions he expects to face while targeting the Los Angeles Olympics.

Almgren’s marathon debut adds another dimension to a field led by defending champion Benson Kipruto. The Kenyan won last year’s race by three hundredths of a second, the narrowest finish in the event’s history, and later took third at Boston in April while beating the previous course record.

Geoffrey Kamworor and CyBrian Kotut of Kenya, Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta, Italy’s record-holder Iliass Aouani and Ireland’s marathon record-holder Peter Lynch are also entered. The American contingent includes Conner Mantz and Zouhair Talbi, who finished two seconds apart at the Falmouth Road Race after Talbi ran 2:03:45 at Boston, the fastest marathon by an American on any course. Jack Rowe and Phily Bowden will join Dever among the British entries.