In 2 hours, 7 minutes and 56 seconds Sunday, 25-year-old Matthew Richtman became the first American winner of the Los Angeles Marathon in 31 years. It was the Illinois native’s second marathon, fresh off a 61-minute half marathon two weeks ago.
The event’s organizers called it a “breakout performance” as he “dominated the field.” His time Sunday placed him eighth on the fastest U.S. all-time men’s marathon performance list. He made his official 26.2-mile debut in October at the Twin Cities Marathon, where he placed fourth with a time of 2:10.47.
“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.”
Originally from Elburn, Richtman was part of the cross-country and track teams at Kaneland High School from 2014 to 2018, after which he began his college career at Bradley University in Peoria. He then transferred to Montana State University, where as a senior in 2023-24 he became the second in program history two-time All-American in cross country. He majored in mechanical engineering.
The last time an American won in the LA Marathon’s 40-year history was 1994 when Paul Pilkington from Utah finished first and Olga Appell from New Mexico won the women’s division.
The Associated Press contributed.
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