Los Angeles Marathon: Zemzem Ahmed finishes second

Los Angeles, CA – Zemzem Ahmed of Ethiopia finished second (2:30.33) in the 28th Asics Los Angeles Marathon here yesterday.

Debutant Aleksandra Duliba of Belarus won the race in 2:26.8, the sixth fastest time in race history. Deena Kastor (USA), 40, finished third in 2:32:38.

In the men’s category, Kenyan athletes took the top-3 spots, with Erick Mose coming in first in 2:09.44, followed by best friend Julius Keter, 24, who claimed second place with a 2:10:31 .

Great Payday

Duliba earned $75,000 for the victory, $25,000 as the top women’s finisher and a $50,000 bonus for beating the fastest man, Erick Mose. The elite women’s field received an 18-minute, 35-second head start for the gender challenge, based on a formula involving the lifetime bests of the elite male and female runner.

This year’s L.A. Marathon was sold out for the second time in its history with 24,000 runners from all 50 states and 61 nations entered.

The 27-year-old led the entire way, smiling mostly, and sped across the foggy finish line in Santa Monica in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 8 seconds, notching a record for her country and the sixth-fastest time in race history.

Aleksandra Duliba of Belarus has won the women’s race and $50,000 gender challenge in the 28th Asics Los Angeles Marathon, outrunning Ethiopia’s Zemzem Ahmed to win the race in her first marathon in an unofficial time of 2:26:08, a Belarus national record.

Ahmed finished second in the women’s race in 2:30:33. Agoura Hills’ Deena Kastor, 40, finished third in 2:32:38.

Duliba earned $75,000 for the victory, $25,000 as the top women’s finisher and a $50,000 bonus for beating the fastest man, Erick Mose of Kenya. The elite women’s field received an 18-minute, 35-second head start for the gender challenge, based on a formula involving the lifetime bests of the elite male and female runner.