Matthew Richtman Makes History as First American Male Winner of LA Marathon in Three Decades

For the first time in 31 years, an American won the Los Angeles Marathon men's division. Matthew Richtman, 25, of Elburn, Illinois, completed the 26.2-mile course in 2:07:56, defeating the next closest runner by more than two minutes to win the race.

Richtman finished the Los Angeles Marathon course more than four minutes faster than any other American on record. He ran each mile at an average pace of 4:57 per mile.

Making his showing even more impressive, it was just Richtman's second marathon ever. He came in fourth place at October's Twin Cities Marathon, finishing the race in 2:10:47.

“It’s definitely a surprise,” Richtman told the Los Angeles Times. “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.”

Prior to entering road races, Richtman competed for Montana State University in track and cross country.

Sunday's race had over 21,000 finishers. The marathon started near Dodger Stadium and finished in Century City. The race paid tribute to the victims of the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area.