Marso 9, 2026

An exciting finish to the L.A. Marathon yesterday. That's the American Nathan Martin, catching up to the Kenyan Michael Kamari.


Nice winning by Martin, brilliant performance of defeat by Kamari, and terrible work by the announcers, who need to sharpen our perception in the moment, not fail to see the potential and then collapse into their own inarticulate emotion. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" — it's like overhearing a random lady in the crowd. At least say "Oh! The humanity!" or something memorable.

40 komento:

Mike (MJB Wolf) ayon kay ...

Nice finish! Shocked the Kenyan so much he fainted (or something).

CJinPA ayon kay ...

Not sure what the announcers' vantage point was and what they could see. Given the history of the race, I doubt they had any reason to anticipate anything but a routine ending. I find them not guilty of Extreme Terribleness.

Achilles ayon kay ...

A photo finish in a 26+ mile race.

I wonder how many more times we will ever see that.

baghdadbob ayon kay ...

That commentary is right up there with my TDS suffering friends saying "I have no words" when demonstrating their latest Trumpian outrage.

Curious George ayon kay ...

"Achilles said...
A photo finish in a 26+ mile race.

I wonder how many more times we will ever see that."

It happened just a few months ago at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. 9/15/25

Curious George ayon kay ...

"Mike (MJB Wolf) said...
Nice finish! Shocked the Kenyan so much he fainted (or something)." I think he lengthened his gate at the last second and fell.

Peachypeachy ayon kay ...

Vapid media announcers, all over the place in participation trophy/ managed decline/ LA.

Ann Althouse ayon kay ...

"A photo finish in a 26+ mile race. I wonder how many more times we will ever see that."

I don't think the length of the race has as much effect as you think. Martin could see where Kamari was and only needed to surprise him in the last few seconds.

Eva Marie ayon kay ...

Much better announcers at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Enigma ayon kay ...

This is a classic stealth take-down. Kamari had the race "in the bag" mentally and was just trotting. He could have kicked and won easily. Psychological hubris led to losing.

Peachypeachy ayon kay ...

Thanks for posting this!

Eva Marie ayon kay ...

here’s a link to that photo finish:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED_3d6f-Fxg

RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

Great job by martin. Crazy he still had so much gas in the tank after 26 miles.

Michael Fitzgerald ayon kay ...

Reminds me of when the Hide-And-Seek Olympics ended in a tie.
https://youtu.be/Ycb9_Y_gJ-g?si=fTxS9DJBGgD4oPON

RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

Yeah, its obvious Kamari didn't see Martin or he would've kicked it up a notch. Incredible athletes. Martin can till talk after doing that. I'm huffing and puffing after a mile. An eight minute mile.

jim ayon kay ...

Yes, incredible sprint after 26 miles.

rehajm ayon kay ...

LA Marathon organizers made a head-scratching decision to reward runners "who have had a tough day" through 18 miles of the course. Runners participating in the marathon have the option to receive their medals at the 18-miler marker, and don’t necessarily have to cross the finish line after 26.2 miles.

Oh the humanity!

Old and slow ayon kay ...

Earlier in the race, Kamari got distracted by a woman who started running front of him waving a flag and took a wrong turn. He had to double back to the proper course. It probably cost him 30 seconds and the race.

kbaud ayon kay ...

The announcers sound like they are describing a float in the Rose Parade.

Larry J ayon kay ...

A runner from Africa didn’t win a marathon? Is that even allowed? They’re dominated marathons for so long that seeing someone else, and an American no less, is surprising.

Joe Bar ayon kay ...

He was robbed!

"Carlitos
@cptn_carlos
What a wild ending to the LA marathon. My mom was able to catch what led to the cinematic ending. The leader went the wrong way. Woman impedes his path, runs to his left and forces him into the middle of the fork + orange shirt waving him right + motorcade goes right at the fork."

https://x.com/cptn_carlos/status/2030856505294250359

n.n ayon kay ...

Nathan "Afterburner" Martin

Enigma ayon kay ...

@rehajm on the 18-mile medal option.

I suspect that race organizers hate to manage the laggards. They hate to pay for security and medical teams. They hate to keep the roads closed. At 18 miles, those who "gave it a go" can declare victory and quit. There may be many injuries and support teams required for those pushing beyond their abilities.

D.D. Driver ayon kay ...

U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A!

I don't think I have ever seen an exciting marathon finish before.

john mosby ayon kay ...

Surprised they didn’t tell people to jump the line and run the last 18 miles. Or the last 18 meters.

“In this house we believe no finisher is illegal!” CC, JSM

Eva Marie ayon kay ...

“I suspect that race organizers hate to manage the laggards. They hate to pay for security and medical teams. They hate to keep the roads closed.”
Easily solved. If runners don’t complete X number of miles by a certain time - race is over for them. But handing medals out like candy is not the answer.

john mosby ayon kay ...

CA believes humans and animals have the same rights. So just treat any laggards like lame horses, Far Side style. CC, JSM

Greg The Class Traitor ayon kay ...

Old and slow said...
Earlier in the race, Kamari got distracted by a woman who started running front of him waving a flag and took a wrong turn. He had to double back to the proper course. It probably cost him 30 seconds and the race.

Maybe, but maybe not. The guy int eh #2 position knew where the #1 guy was, but the reverse wasn't true. If he'd known the #2 guy was closing on him, THAT would have let him keep #1 and win

baghdadbob ayon kay ...

john mosby said...
"Surprised they didn’t tell people to jump the line and run the last 18 miles. Or the last 18 meters.

“In this house we believe no finisher is illegal!” CC, JSM"

Rosie Ruiz approves this message.

Smilin' Jack ayon kay ...

“Martin could see where Kamari was and only needed to surprise him in the last few seconds.”

I don’t think Kamari was surprised. He knew where Martin was and that he was gaining fast. You can see him looking back to check, and I’m sure people in the crowd were yelling at him. He tries to speed up near the end but just doesn’t have enough left. Amazing kick from Martin at the finish.

Old and slow ayon kay ...

The incident where he went off course was 400 meters from the finish line. It most certainly cost him the race.

Leland ayon kay ...

Isn't this basic race tactics? They say the leader sets the pace, but the pace is actually set by the field. Once the leader is lulled into "just keeping ahead", then you can go into attack and surprise them. The trick is timing it, so they don't realize the attack is on or that you run out of distance to out sprint them.

Curious George ayon kay ...

"RCOCEAN II said... Incredible athletes."

Are they? https://www.tiktok.com/@thefilm_fraternity/video/7504758785794182443

Lem Vibe Bandit ayon kay ...

Omg, Omg ... ad infinitum

Lem Vibe Bandit ayon kay ...

Video : This sounded hilarious to me. I'm not sure but, I don't think they were being coherent.

It reminded me of the Dean Scream.

loudogblog ayon kay ...

That reminds me of those smartphone videos where people keep saying, "OH, SHIT! OH SHIT! OH SHIT!..." when something bad or spectacular is happening. (BTW, you can inject any of the classic swear words in there."

Lazarus ayon kay ...

The last time there was an upset like this, Rosie Ruiz jumped in from the crowd at the 25.7 mile mark. Rosie went from crime to crime, ending up, appropriately enough, as a pharma rep. She passed away in 2019. R.I.P.

Mason G ayon kay ...

Announcers? This is how a professional does it:

"High fly ball into right field, she is gone!" and then, not another word for over a minute.

Kirk Gibson's legendary 1988 World Series walk-off home run, called by Vin Scully!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4nwMDZYXTI

Jim at ayon kay ...

In the year of the improbable, the impossible has happened!

Tofu King ayon kay ...

No fair comparing any sports announcer to Vin Scully. His classic aside on socialism:
Vin Scully

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