American Nathan Martin Wins By Just 0.01 Seconds In What Has To Be Most Dramatic LA Marathon Ever

I don’t care what anybody says. America won, and that’s that.

American runner Nathan Martin was the victor Sunday of the Los Angeles Marathon, getting the win with the closest margin ever after he overtook Michael Kimani Kamau (Kenya). And get this: Martin beat Kimani Kamau by just 0.01 seconds.

The 36-year-old Martin had a finish time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 17 seconds following chasing down the Kenyan, who was leading with more than a mile and a half out. After getting beat at the line, Kimani Kamau collapsed, eventually being carried off by medical personnel. And on a stretcher at that. (RELATED: US Olympian Alysa Liu Proves She’s A Fraud Too After Defending American Traitor Eileen Gu)

Working as a high school track and cross-country coach, Martin ran the race (26.2 miles) and finished just 32 seconds from his best time of 2:10:45. That time came back in 2023 during the Grandma’s Marathon.

“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,” said Martin via the Los Angeles Times. “At a mile and a half to go, I could see the leader and with 800 meters to go, I was thinking, ‘I’m catching him.’”

All of that, however, isn’t the only drama that came in this race. Near the end, Kimani Kamau ended up going the wrong way at one point, doing so because of a woman impeding his path. This led him to making a wrong turn, forcing officials to tell him to get back on track. You can see that footage here.

NEW: American Nathan Martin wins the closest Los Angeles Marathon in race history, beating Kenya’s Michael Kimani Kamau by just 00.01 seconds.

Martin was seen chasing down Kamau at the end of the race.

“I made an actual move five miles out… when I saw no one else was picking… pic.twitter.com/5BCvZpfrec

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 9, 2026

Quite frankly, I don’t care what anybody says. A win is a win, and that’s exactly what this was for the red, white and blue.