LA Marathon organisers have confirmed they will review crowd management procedures after members of the public encroached onto the course in the dramatic closing stages of Sunday’s race.
Video footage of Nathan Martin’s incredible ‘photo finish’ victory over Kenyan Michael Kamau went viral on Monday as the American high school coach came from behind to break the tape just 0:01 seconds ahead of his fellow runner.
Organisers hailed it as ‘the closest finish in the race’s history’, as social media viewers lauded Martin’s herculean efforts as proof that you should never give up hope in any sport.
Leader Kamau goes the wrong way
However, it was later revealed that Kamau had lost precious seconds when he took a wrong turn while heading down the home straight.
Video footage shared by the Marathon Handbook on Instagram shows him briefly distracted by two spectators who ran onto the course waving Kenyan flags to celebrate what appeared to be his inevitable victory.
Instead of carrying on down toward the finish line, he follows one of the lead vehicles and veers off course. It was only when marshals shouted for him to come back that he realised his error and did a U-turn – costing him precious seconds in the process.
As Martin found his late burst of speed, Kamau seemed to be struggling, and with the pair lunging for the line, it was Martin who got there first, pipping his rival by the smallest of margins as the Kenyan went crashing to the floor.
Follows on from US Half Marathon problems
The difference in prize money between first and second places saw Martin earn $25,000 and Kamau take home $10,000.
A similar issue over course directions was also highlighted the weekend before, when three lead runners in the women’s US Half Marathon in Atlanta were led the wrong way after following a pace car and eventually finished down in ninth, 12th and 13th positions.
In a statement released to Runner’s World by LA Marathon spokesperson Meg Treat, it was confirmed that no protest had been lodged by Kamau as a result of the mix-up and that spectators encroaching onto the course was ‘a cause for concern’.
“This morning, we became aware of a video circulating on social media of Michael Kamau going slightly off course as our lead vehicles made their pre-planned exit off the race course,” the statement issued on Monday read. “No protests were filed, and the results of Sunday’s event are unchanged. Our vehicles did not make a wrong turn at any point in the event.
‘We will review how future issues can be avoided’
“An enthusiastic spectator’s behaviour just feet before the finish line chute fencing commenced, seen in the video, is cause for concern. We are gratified that our race attracts large spectator crowds, and we will review how future issues of this kind can be avoided as part of our post-race discussions.”
Martin, already the fastest US-born Black American in history courtesy of his 2:10:45 finish at the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, is now believed to be the first US-born Black runner to win a big city marathon since the great Ted Corbitt.
Speaking to the LA Times after the race, he said: “I made an actual move five miles out… when I saw no one else was picking up the pace. I decided I needed to push. At a mile and a half to go, I could see the leader, and with 800 metres to go, I was thinking, ‘I’m catching him’.”
Criticism over 18-mile medal awards
The women’s race was rather less dramatic, as Olympian Priscah Cherono (KEN) was the first to cross the line, beating her competition with a time of 2:25:19.
Cherono, a 45-year-old mother of three, won an additional $10,000 bonus for being the first person, male or female, to the finish line. Women were given a 15:45 head start in The Marathon Chase, which fittingly took place on International Women’s Day.
LA Marathon organisers had already caused some controversy earlier last week when they announced that ‘finishers’ medals would still be presented to runners even if they could only complete 18 miles of the 26.2-mile course.
The decision was made to protect runner safety, with extreme temperatures expected in California over the weekend; however, many criticised it, saying that 18 miles was not a marathon, and therefore runners did not deserve their medals.
