McFadden, Van Dyk win NYC half marathon

South Africa’s seven-time Paralympic medalist Ernst Van Dyk and the USA’s 11-time Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden smashed event records on their way to victory in the New York City Half Marathon on Sunday (20 March).

Van Dyk captured the top prize in 47:37 and McFadden took her title in 52:25.

McFadden beat Swiss former winner Manuela Schar (53:10) and the USA’s Susan Scaroni (55:15) into second and third respectively in the women’s wheelchair division.

“This year was really important for the [United Airlines NYC] Half to kind of set me up really nicely for Boston and really nicely for the rest of the season,” McFadden, who is preparing for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, said.

Van Dyk defended his title in the men’s wheelchair division ahead of US teammates Aaron Pike (48:47) and Brian Siemann (50:30).

This was the 11th running of the United Airlines NYC Half – the first of five events in the NYRR Five-Borough Series. The professional athlete prize purse totals USD 115,000. The course took runners through a tour of Manhattan–through Central Park, Times Square, and down the West Side Highway to the finish in the financial district. Unofficially, there were 20,155 finishers who completed the course.

The NYRR Times Square Kids’ Run at the United Airlines NYC Half featured 1,000 kids ages 7-18 who competed in a 1500-meter out-and-back road race on Seventh Avenue that started and ended in Times Square. The race included a youth wheelchair heat for the first time.