LOS ANGELES: Matt Richtman recently won the 40th annual Los Angeles Marathon, making history as the first American man to claim the title in 31 years.
This was only Richtman’s second marathon, after making his debut last year at the Twin Cities Marathon where he finished fourth with a final time of 2:10:47. Now, the 25-year-old achieved a personal best with a time of 2:07:56, completing a course that started at the Dodger Stadium and passed through downtown LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Brentwood before finishing in Century City.
With this, Richtman said: “I didn’t really have a super big plan coming into this. It’s always so tough, the marathon, just because so much can happen.”
He added: “I just told myself to stay in that pack until about the halfway mark, and then if I felt good, I could make a move. (I) ended up going a little bit to the lead, and no one really came with me.”
In a social media post, he also shared: “I can’t even begin to explain this whole experience, there is just so much to cover. When I stepped up to the start line I had no idea how much my life would change over the next 2:07:56. The race itself was incredible, it was such a great field to compete against and I learned so much every mile.”
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The last American man to win the LA Marathon was Paul Pilkington, who claimed the title in 1994 with a time of 2:12:13.
Kenya’s Athanas Kioko finished in second place with a final time of 2:10:55. His fellow Kenyan, Moses Kurgat, secured third place with a time of 2:13:13.
In the women’s race, Tejinesh Tulu of Ethiopia claimed the title with a time of 2:30:16. Antonina Kwambai of Kenya finished second in 2:30:19, and Savannah Berry third in 2:30:31.