LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nathan Miller won the 41st Los Angeles Marathon in the final stride on Sunday, becoming the second straight American men’s winner in the race’s closest finish ever.
Miller, of Jackson, Michigan, completed the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 18 seconds, overtaking Michael Kamau of Kenya, who was second in the same time.
Kamau didn’t take any fluids during the race and fell at the finish. He was taken away on a stretcher.
Miller, 36, is a substitute teacher and a high school track and cross country coach at Jackson High School. His personal best is 2:10:45 at the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon, where he set a record as the fastest U.S.-born Black marathoner.
Last year, Matt Richtman became the first American to win the men’s race since 1994. He won in 2:07:56.
Enyew Nigat of Kenya was third on Sunday in 2:14:23.
In the women’s race, Priscah Cherono of Kenya won in 2:25:20. The 45-year-old mother of three lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was 10th in the 5,000 meters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Kellyn Taylor of Flagstaff, Arizona, finished second in 2:27:37. Antonina Kwambai of Kenya was third in 2:28:50.
Race organizers had announced that because of the weather medals would be given out to runners who completed just 18 miles of the course that began at Dodger Stadium and ended in the Century City section of Los Angeles. Temperatures were expected to rise into the 80s by midday.
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