Video shows LA Marathon leader go off course after fan encounter before losing sprint finish

Video from the final dramatic moments of the sprint for the win at the 2026 Los Angeles Marathon shows the front-runner going the wrong way in the final stage of the race before he was caught from behind in a finish that was decided by less than a second.

In the video, an exuberant spectator waving a Kenyan flag can be seen approaching Kenyan Michael Kamau at Mile 26 of the 26.2-mile race. Kamau veered around the spectator and, behind a motorcycle officer, entered an area sectioned off from the course by metal finish chute fencing on Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City. People can be seen waving Kamau back onto the course, but precious seconds passed before he stopped, turned and went back around the gates to re-enter the marathon route.

American Nathan Martin, also seen in the video, chased down Kamau in the closing stretch, beating him by about a stride across the line with a stunning finishing kick.

Martin’s time was 2:11:16.50, the same as Kamau’s on the preliminary results sheet. Enyew Nigat of Ethiopia was third with a time of 2:14:22.22.

It was the marathon’s closest-ever finish. Martin earned $25,000 for his win and Kamau earned $10,000 for second place.

Kamau led for much of the race that began at Dodger Stadium. He fell facedown to the ground, reaching out in a desperate attempt to hold off the 36-year-old from Michigan, and was receiving medical treatment at the finish area.

No protests were filed after the race and the results remained unchanged, Los Angeles Marathon spokesperson told Runner’s World. Motorcade vehicles made a planned exit 300 meters from within sight of the finish line, and all athletes were part of a technical meeting before the race, according to the report.

“An enthusiastic spectator’s behavior just feet before the finish line chute fencing commenced, seen in the video, is cause for concern,” Treat said in a written statement to Runner’s World. “We’re 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.”

Kamau’s time at the 40K, the 24.8-mile mark, was 2:03:40 with Martin at 2:04:36. Martin was nowhere to be seen in a wide-angle camera view from NewsChopper4 as Kamau began the stretch to the finish, but Martin sent the crowd lining Santa Monica Boulevard near the corner of Avenue of the Stars into a frenzy as he gained ground.

“A mile to go, I started seeing the pace car and the lead guy, and said, ‘Well maybe, we’ll see what happens,'” Martin said after the race. “And then 800 to go, I’m like, ‘All right, I have to go for it, I have to at least try,’ and things kind of worked out.”

It was not immediately clear whether Martin saw Kamau’s off-course venture.

Martin became the second American man to win the Los Angeles Marathon, joining 2025 winner Matthew Ritchman.

Kenyan Priscah Cherono led from Mile 1 to Mile 26 and logged an unofficial time of 2:25:18.31.

The elite women started 15:45 ahead of the elite men, with the overall first finisher receiving a $10,000 bonus. Cherono’s unofficial time was 2:25:18.31.