Matt Richtman becomes first American man to win LA Marathon in 31 years | Marathon

Matt Richtman won the 40th annual Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, becoming the first American man to take the title in 31 years.

The 25-year-old set a personal-best time of two hours, seven minutes and 56 seconds over a course that began at Dodger Stadium and went through downtown LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Brentwood before ending in the Century City neighborhood. It was just Richtman’s second marathon, following his debut last year at the Twin Cities Marathon, where he recorded a time of 2:10:47 to finish fourth.

Athanas Kioko of Kenya was second on Sunday in 2:10:55. His compatriot, Moses Kurgat, took third in 2:13:13.

“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,” Richtman said. “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. Ended up going a little bit to the lead and no one really came with me.”

Richtman, of Elburn, Illinois, was a member of the Montana State cross-country team, earning All-America honors as a junior in 2022-23.

Paul Pilkington was the last American man to win the LA Marathon, finishing the 1994 edition in 2:12:13.

In the women’s race, Tejinesh Tulu of Ethiopia took the title in 2:30:16. Antonina Kwambai of Kenya was second in 2:30:19. Savannah Berry was third in 2:30:31. Berry finished 12th at last year’s US Olympic trials.