Revealed: How serious error from LA Marathon staffer led to heartbreaking split-second loss for leading runner
The cinematic ending to the Los Angeles Marathon came after confusing directions and a joyful fan interfered with the lead runner – forcing him to run the wrong way before turning back.
American Nathan Martin pulled off a wild comeback, closing a long distance to pip Kenyan runner Michael Kimani Kamau a mere two strides before crossing the line.
While it was a surprise victory, it came after a major error that was captured on camera.
In the final few hundred meters of the race, Kamau was running down the stretch when a woman waving a Kenya flag got directly in his path, forcing him to move around her to the right.
At the same time, eyewitnesses claim that a volunteer in an orange shirt waved him to the right of a forked barricade. The lead car tasked with bringing him home also moved to the right of the fork and Kamau followed.
In reality, Kamau should have been running forward. After a few strides, bystanders caught his attention and got him to turn around before making any further errors.
Kenyan runner Michael Kimani Kamau was leading the LA Marathon when he was led down the wrong path. His trouble began when this fan ran directly in front of him, forcing him to avoid her in order to follow the pace car – which had gone to the right of a fork made of barriers.
After fans told him of the error, Kamau was forced to back track and run the final 400 meters
But in that time, American Nathan Martin came from behind to beat Kamau by two strides
But the slip up was costly enough. Were it not for this, Kamau would have won the race by many strides despite running out of steam late.
This error comes just over a week after an American woman was led the wrong way down a half marathon course by officials in Atlanta.
Jess McClain was leading the 2026 US Half Marathon Championships with less than two miles remaining when the lead bike took her and two other competitors off course by a distance of 400 meters.
This forced the trio to double back and then finish the remainder of the race. But by that point, McClain had lost her lead and came across the line in ninth place.
This error came just days after a similar incident happened in a half marathon in Atlanta
Molly Born, who was behind McClain by over a minute, was declared champion and crossed first with a time of 1:09:43.
It was later revealed that the runners were led down the wrong path because a police officer stationed on the course was hit by a car.
When an off-duty officer was called on to fill in, the cop guided the pace vehicle and runners down the wrong path without knowing.
Despite the clear officiating failure, the USATF denied all protests and appeals, stating there is ‘no recourse within the USATF rulebook to alter the results’.
