Andreas Almgren started his first career marathon on Sunday, lining up with the other pre-race favourites at the New York City Marathon, Aftonbladet reports. The Swedish runner began the race at 15:05 local time, according to the outlet.
The debut comes after a major breakthrough on the international running scene. In September, Almgren became the first non-African runner in 30 years to take world championship gold in the half marathon, Aftonbladet reports.
His move up to the full marathon distance places him in one of the sport's most famous races for his first attempt. Swedish outlets gave the start wide coverage: Svenska Dagbladet's Anders Lindblad described it as a thrilling highlight, while Dagens Nyheter's Johan Esk credited Almgren's running form for his rise, and Omni published an expert assessment of the main threats to him in the field. Expressen, meanwhile, carried reaction from a Swedish sporting icon criticising an unspecified detail, without further context in the source material.
What to watch next: how Almgren fares over 42 kilometres in his first marathon, and whether the result backs up the expectations built by his half marathon title.
