LOS ANGELES – Russian Lidiya Grigoryeva pulled away from Ethiopian Gete Wami in the final stretch and staved off a challenge by Kenyan Benson Cherono to win the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday.
Grigoryeva, who set a course record in the women's division, earned a $100,000 bonus for the unofficial winning time of 2:25:10 as part of "The Challenge," a battle-of-the-sexes format that allows women to start ahead of men.
Grigoryeva and male runner Cherono each received $35,000 and a new car for winning the women's and men's divisions.
Race organizers gave the top women runners a 16:46 head start in hopes of creating a close finish with the top men. Last year's time differential was 15:50.
Cherono, 21, finished closely behind Wami in an unofficial time of 2:08:39.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox