This year’s Los Angeles Marathon will be remembered by many for its rule allowing people to quit at the 18-mile mark and still get credit for finishing the race. The end of the race will be best remembered for someone who didn’t quit at all, right up until the end.
An American man named Nathan Martin pulled off one of the most miraculous comebacks in marathon history, narrowly edging out Kenyan Michael Kimani Kamau, who had led for most of the race.
Martin finished the race in just 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 16 seconds and became the second American in a row to win the marathon after Matthew Richtman broke America’s 31-year winless streak last year.
Kamau collapsed at the finish line and was treated by medical professionals.
Fans on X were quick to react to the stunning finish.
“To sprint after 26 miles is crazy!” one user wrote.
“The guy ran a perfect 26.19999999 miles,” cracked another.
“Back to back world war champs… Olympic hockey champs (x2), and this race,” observed another.
“sucks to be the other guy,” wrote another.
“Hmmmm. Need to see who was in front at the 18-mile mark for medal purposes,” another joked.
More than 27,000 runners took to the streets of LA for the race on Sunday.
