Savannah Berry Finishes Third as Young U.S. Runners Shine on the Stadium to the Stars Course
LOS ANGELES (March 16, 2025) — Los Angeles is a city where stars are born and dreams are fulfilled, and in the latest reincarnation of the classic A Star Is Born, American runner Matthew Richtman created his own unknown-becomes-a-star story with a dominating, sit-up-and-take-notice 2:07:56 win in Sunday’s 40th running of the Los Angeles Marathon presented by ASICS.
It was the first win by an American runner in Los Angeles since Paul Pilkington and Olga Appell won in 1994. Despite only having one marathon under his belt, the 25-year-old Richtman turned in a commanding victory against a strong international field on the rolling “Stadium to the Stars” course, from Dodger Stadium to Century City.
Kenya’s Athanas Kioko finished a distant second in 2:10:55, while Moses Kiptoo Kurgat was third in 2:13:13. Ethiopia’s Tejinesh Gebisa Tulu broke away from a three-runner battle late in the women’s race to win in 2:30:16, just ahead of Kenya’s Antonina Kwambai (2:30:19) and American Savannah Berry (2:30:31).
“This is the future of American distance running we saw on display here in LA,” said Deena Kastor, 2004 Olympic marathon bronze medalist, said on the broadcast. “For Matt to run 2:07:56—that’s some serious running for someone so young in their marathon career. And Savannah did the work until a mile to go. A great performance by her. To see Americans do well against top Kenyans and Ethiopians here was quite a morning.”
The excitement of having young Americans leading both the men’s and women’s races swept through the crowds, amplifying the energy along the course.
In just his second marathon, the self-coached Richtman stayed in a large group through the early downhill section from Dodger Stadium onto Sunset Boulevard, patiently running in a pack of eight through a 31:02 10K.
At mile 16, Richtman, a 2024 Montana State University mechanical engineering graduate, who placed fourth in last October’s Twin Cities Marathon (2:10:47), dropped a 4:39 mile, separating himself from the pack.
Kioko and Kurgat tried to go with Richtman, but blistering splits at miles 20 (4:22) and 21 (4:24) gave him a one-minute lead, which he extended over the final gradual uphill climb into Century City.
“I didn’t really have a specific plan coming into this—so much can happen in a marathon,” said Richtman, who signed with ASICS as a professional runner in January. “I wanted to stay in the pack the first hour and make a move if I was feeling good, and no one came with me. So I figured, let’s make it an honest effort and go for it. The crowd was amazing. It was a great feeling to be out here, especially with Savannah.”
Richtman earned $10,000 for his win, plus an additional $10,000 for winning the Marathon Chase, a unique competition where the elite women start 16 minutes, 5 seconds ahead of the men. The first runner, male or female, across the finish line claims the bonus payout.
“Seeing Matt blow by me was encouraging,” said Berry, a two-time U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier who lives and trains in Orem, Utah. “I wanted to represent our state and our country. Of course, I’m competitive, so I was a little sad to lose in the last little bit.”
Both Richtman and Berry have plenty of races ahead and are fresh faces for fans to focus on in the coming years. They were both eager to run well in Los Angeles, knowing they’d love to represent the U.S. at the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
Francisco Sanclemente of Colombia was Sunday’s men’s wheelchair winner in 1:38:10, his third consecutive LA victory. Wakako Tscuhida of Japan was the women’s wheelchair winner in 2:03.56.
More than 41,000 runners and walkers participated in this year’s Los Angeles Marathon weekend of events, including the Big 5 Sporting Goods LA 5K, the Los Angeles Marathon, and the Charity Half Marathon.
Los Angeles teamed up with the nation’s largest marathons—Boston, New York City, and Chicago—for the Together LA initiative, raising funds for wildfire relief efforts through the sale of special commemorative T-shirts.
In total, more than 105 charities and 4,200 charity runners participated in the marathon, half marathon, and 5K races, collectively expected to raise more than $4 million.
“An awesome feeling today, celebrating the vitality of Los Angeles,” said Murphy Reinschreiber, Chief Operating Officer of The McCourt Foundation, the race organizer. “Today was a great example of how marathons bring cities together.”
For complete results, photos and more, visit www.LAMarathon.com.
Photo Credit: Andrew McClanahan / McCourt Foundation
