TCS NYC MARATHON

November 1, 2026

Marcel Hug

Catherine Debrunner

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everybody. What an exciting day we saw out there in the five boroughs, and how fitting that is given this is the 50th anniversary of the five borough marathon and the 50th anniversary of the TCS New York City Marathon, welcoming a pro field to this race.

Among the historic days we have seen over these last five decades, today will certainly top the history books, not just for its time but for its excitement.

I want to start our Professional Wheelchair Division winners of today for our press conference. We're going to bring up our men's winner with a time of 1:28:19, Marcel Hug. And our women's winner with a time of 1:40:20, Catherine Debrunner, both of them of Switzerland.

Marcel, it seems just a couple of weeks ago we were talking about a race where you dominate versus a race where you sprint to the finish. We've seen them both out of you the last couple weeks, Chicago a very different scenario compared to what we saw today. What was that like out there, that back and forth between you and Daniel for all 26 of the miles?

MARCEL HUG: Yeah, very exciting. The race was very close. Daniel was very strong today. Obviously I was trying to attack to go away from him, especially the second half.

But, yeah, he was too strong. He was always with me. Then when we came from Columbus Circle into the park again, at the little uphill to the finish, he attacked early.

I tried not to give up. He had a little gap, then tried to not give up. Just a few meters before the finish, I caught him again. Good win, so I'm very happy.

THE MODERATOR: Did you expect that kind of race today from Daniel?

MARCEL HUG: When Daniel is on the start line, I always have to expect him to be very strong, especially here in New York with the uphills. He is very strong in the uphills.

I tried really hard to break away, to attack many times. Then, yeah, the second half, I knew, okay, maybe I have to prepare for a fast finish sprint. I was not sure how this goes for me with the finish sprint, but very, very lucky that I can make it.

THE MODERATOR: Catherine, your race unfolded a little bit differently. Your margin of victory 8 minutes and 25 seconds, the fifth largest in race history, kind like when you won here in 2023, where you also won by 8 1/2 minutes.

We were talking backstage you really have no idea how far behind you second and third are when you're that far ahead.

CATHERINE DEBRUNNER: Yeah, it's really true that you have no idea where they are, how far the gap is, but maybe it's good because maybe if I knew like eight minutes, maybe I would relax too much, I don't know.

Yeah, it was a great race. It was a great race day. New York is definitely a special place to come.

THE MODERATOR: You're both victors here today. You're both victors of the 2026 Abbott World Marathon Major Series for 2026. What does it mean for wheelchair racing in Switzerland to have that kind of dominance?

CATHERINE DEBRUNNER: Well, I think it's a really big reward for a lot of work you put in, and all the marathon courses are so different. They are challenging in their own way: Some are hilly, some are technical, some are flat. So you really need to have a lot of different abilities in order to win these marathons.

I think, yeah, it makes me super proud that I can win it for the third time the series.

MARCEL HUG: Also for me it really means a lot to win the series. Today when we got the trophy, it was really a moment to be quite emotional and to look back to all these marathons we had this year. As Catherine said, they were so different, so many different challenges.

Yeah, very happy, very proud to win this trophy again, especially together with Catherine for Switzerland. It always means something special.

Q. Marcel, you won your 48th marathon today. That's so much since 2013. How do you keep going and going and going? I mean, you're not the youngest athlete anymore.

MARCEL HUG: Yes, that's true. It's a very tough question. I really don't know. I just try to do my best in each race and to focus on each race. Of course I'm very happy or very lucky that I have a good body still with my age.

Yeah, no big issues with my body. Still working great. Great team around me who supports me. So I'm very grateful.

Yeah, for me, it's just the joy of wheelchair racing, also of course the training itself. Try to keep up my performance, try to become better each training session. Yeah, it's the passion for me this sport. I think it's always motivation for me to keep up.

Q. Marcel, you race courses all over the world. This one through the streets of New York, besides the hills, the roads are pretty rugged. How do you deal with that? Are you like watching for every turn and every perhaps pothole and all that kind of fun stuff?

MARCEL HUG: I'm not sure if I understood correctly.

Q. The challenges of the course more than anything.

MARCEL HUG: Yeah, most important is to prepare for the New York Marathon it's different to other marathons with all the uphills. So I prepared a lot of uphills also on the treadmill. Yeah, just to try to do the best and to focus on each uphill.

Also, New York Marathon is very different with also some downhill sections of the marathon, a lot of straights, long straight, but a lot of turns. It's something that makes it very interesting, the New York Marathon. It has a little bit of everything. So you need to be like a complete athlete.

Yeah, the uphills are very challenging, especially when Daniel is in the field. He's so strong in the uphills. You just have to try to keep up with him.

CATHERINE DEBRUNNER: I think that actually the roads were pretty good today. Yes, as Marcel said, I think every marathon has its own challenges. For New York, I think the focus is definitely on the uphills and like one downhill, but I think it's more the uphill.

There were not many potholes or big holes which were dangerous, if you ask me. Yeah, I was quite happy about it actually.

THE MODERATOR: Marcel, we saw you had trouble with a pothole here in 2024. It was the last time you were defeated in a World Marathon Major. I'm so happy to see that streak continues for you.

Q. Hello, Catherine. You're the world record holder of marathon, achieved that in Chicago, right?

CATHERINE DEBRUNNER: Sorry, can you repeat again?

Q. In Chicago, you made the world record, and here you didn't make the record. What is different about the route in Chicago and here?

CATHERINE DEBRUNNER: Well, if you break a world record here, that would be insane. I don't think it's possible for us. It's way too much uphill.

Also, for a world record, everything needs to be perfect. Chicago three weeks ago, it was just perfect circumstances in terms of weather, but also I felt really well that day. So I think just all possible parts need to work together. Not every day's a world record day.

THE MODERATOR: You are, however, the course record holder here, and you were very close today. Now you have the two fastest times in TCS New York City Marathon history.

Q. You both have competed all over the world at the highest level. What makes competing in New York City, in the New York City Marathon, so special?

CATHERINE DEBRUNNER: I think this city is special in a good way. I think the vibes here are electric, like the city who never sleeps, we say, and it's just a very spectacular experience to race here.

For all the people who watch skiing, I always say that New York is a little bit like Lauberhorn or Kitzbühel. They're really tough. They're well known as the toughest downhill courses.

For me it feels a little the same here, and maybe it's because they're so hard, it makes it even more special because you have to work so hard through the whole course. And normally you have like two or three mental challenges during a marathon, but here it feels like every 5K. It's mentally really challenging.

MARCEL HUG: For me as well, I totally agree with Catherine. For me as a little kid in the racing wheelchair, it was really like a dream to do the New York Marathon, to go to the Big Apple, to go through all the five boroughs and the sceneries with Manhattan and everything. It's really special.

As she said, it's the most challenging course. You just have to do it, to fight against the hills. Yeah, the atmosphere is unbeatable.

With that, I'd like to bring up TAG Heuer's VP of Marketing Ryan Cooney to present our winners with their exclusive winner's watch.