But as hard as Fearnley tried – he was even given the same finishing time - Hug was the first man to break the tape on Sunday. 

There was just inches in it as the pair left their rivals behind and sprinted to the line, stopping the clock after one hour, 35 minutes and 49 seconds.

Hug once again showed why he has been nicknamed the ‘silver bullet’.

“He’s racing amazing. We haven’t had a guy win more than one race in a year for four years, and now he’s won what, five?,” Fearnley said.

“He’s hitting his pace, and when you get momentum like that, sometimes you’ve just got to ride it out.”

Fearnley had to settle for second place behind Hug over 42.2 kilometres at the Rio Paralympics and while he was originally declared the victor in the Chicago Marathon last month, a review of the photo finish saw the man in the chrome helmet as the actual winner.

Fearnley, who won the season opener in Tokyo, rolled into position at the starting line on Sunday looking for his sixth win in New York.

Amongst a strong field which included defending champion Ernst van Dyk, it eventually came down to Fearnley and Hug once more.

They averaged three minutes, 40 seconds per mile, with Hug nudging Fearnley out in the final sprint.

The duo finished well clear of third placed Josh George (1:39.01), with van Dyk (1:40.08) fourth.

"That was a tough race and tough result to take," Fearnley, who also placed third to Hug in the Boston Marathon, said.

"Full credit to Marcel, he's had a tremendous year, but I'm sick of seeing the back of his chair.

"It's hard to get one win in a year and Marcel has had five. I managed one early in Tokyo, but couldn't get around him in the final sprint for the last few.

“I'll be back next year though and I'm determined to get a few more wins under my belt.

"It's been a massive year and I'm looking forward to a break.”