For the first time in 31 years, an American has won the Los Angeles Marathon.
Matt Richtman, an Illinois native, was the victor in what was the second-largest field in the race’s history, per ABC7. He ran 2:07:56, and bore an American flag after crossing the finish line.
Ethiopia’s Tejinesh Gebisa Tulu won the women’s race at 2:30:16.
“It’s definitely a surprise,” Richtman admitted after winning the race, per ABC7. “You know, I came in feeling really good; it’s really hard to judge where you stack up against competition, but it was a really good group out there today, and I was really happy to run with those guys and then ultimately win it.”
Richtman was in front of Kenya’s Athanas Kioko, who finished in second with a time of 2:10:55, while fellow Kenyan Mose Kiptoo finished third at 2:13:13.
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Richtman, who was a Montana State University Bobcat in college, added that he really “didn’t have too much of a strategy” to come away with the win.
“The first half I just wanted to stay in that group, didn’t really want to push the pace or lead or anything like that, just kind of stay, feel it out, ‘cause it’s a challenging course.
“The whole race I was running with a little bit of fear. It’s tough when you can’t see what’s going on behind you.”
Fear clearly pushed Richtman into whatever gear he needed to keep the pace and cross the finish line first.
Richtman sent his appreciation out to those in the city of Los Angeles who were cheering him on throughout the race.
“It’s such a great day, you know, the 40th anniversary (of the race), there’s so many legacy runners out here, and the crowd out her was amazing,” he said. “There were people throughout the whole course and it really helps. It’s amazing how much a crowd can change the course of what you’re doing.”
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