Aleksandra Duliba Wins L.A. Marathon

27-year-old’s time of 2:26:08 breaks the Belarusian national record.

Aleksandra Duliba prevailed in the Los Angeles Marathon over the weekend, breaking the tape in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 8 seconds. The time broke the national record in her home country of Belarus.

The result most likely earned the 27-year-old a spot in this summer’s World Championships in Moscow. This was the first marathon of her career.

“I had three and a half months of training for this marathon, and by the end I was confident I’d run a good, fast time,” she said. “I had a chance to look around at the trees and the houses. Everything was so beautiful.”

Duliba dominated the race with the second-place runner, Zemzem Ahmed, finishing 4:24 behind.

The L.A. Marathon also hosted a “gender challenge,” where the elite women were given a head start before the men and the first runner to cross the line was to collect a $50,000 cash bonus.

Dulbia pulled that off, too. Her total winnings for the day were $75,000.

In the men’s race, Mexican-born Kenyan citizen Erick Mose won in 2:09:44.