Elisha Barno and Askale Merachi won the men’s and women’s races, clocking 2:11:45 and 2:24:11time, respectively, at Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday morning.
LOS ANGELES, CA―Elisha Barno passed fellow Kenyan John Korir in the final 200 yards to win the men’s portion of Sunday’s 34th annual Los Angeles Marathon, while Askale Merachi of Ethiopia set a course record to capture first place in the women’s race.
Ethiopia’s Askale Merachi won the women’s race and set a race record. Askale, clocking 2:24:11 time, broke the race’s record previously held by Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia in 2006.
Barno completed the 26-mile, 385-yard “Stadium to the Sea” route from Dodger Stadium to near the Santa Monica Pier in two hours, 11 minutes, 45.54 seconds. Korir was second in 2:11:52.29. Juan Luis Barrios of Mexico was third in 2:11:59.45.
Merachi was the women’s winner in 2:24:11.83, breaking the previous course record of 2:25:38 set by Edna Kiplagat of Kenya in 2010. Cynthia Jerop of Kenya was second among the women in 2:25:54.41 and fellow Kenyan Lucy Karimi third in 2:26:15.42.
The men’s race has been won by a Kenyan every year since 1999, except for 2011 and 2014, when it was won by Ethiopians.
Men’s Title top results
1. Elisha Barno (KEN) 2:11:45
2. John Korir (KEN) 2:11:52
3. Juan Luis Barrios (MEX) 2:11:59
4. Milton Rotich (KEN) 2:12:42
5. Weldon Kirui (KEN) 2:13:24
Women’s Title top results
1. Askale Merachi (ETH) 2:24:11
2. Cynthia Jerop (KEN) 2:25:54
3. Lucy Karimi (KEN) 2:26:15
4. Olha Skrypak (UKR) 2:30:33
5. Jane Kibii (KEN) 2:32:12
A U.S. runner last won the men’s race in 1994 — also the last year a U.S. runner won the women’s race.
African women have won eight of the last 10 races, with runners from the former Soviet Union winning the other two times.
The race has a purse of $100,000, with equal prize money for men and women. Elisha Barno and Askale Merachi will each receive $23,000 for their victories. The runners-up will each receive $11,250 and the third-place finishers $9,000.
The top five male and female finishers will receive prize money.
A capacity field of more than 24,000 entered the 10th edition of the race to be run on the “Stadium to the Sea” course, expected to be the fourth-largest among this year’s U.S. marathons and 10th worldwide.
The race drew entrants from all 50 states and a record 66 nations, three more than the previous high, according to organizers.
For the first time, the race had two honorary starters — Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner and Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols.
Both Turner and Pujols have foundations that were among the race’s 70 official charities.
Read the complete story at FOX 11 Los Angeles