How Conner Mantz fared at New York City Marathon

Conner Mantz said he was speechless after a disappointing showing in Sunday’s New York City Marathon, where he finished 11th with a time of 2:07:27.

It marked the first time since the 2023 Boston Marathon that Mantz did not finish among the top eight in a major marathon, including the Olympics, Boston, New York, Chicago and the Olympic Trials. That was also the last time he was not the top American finisher. Zouhair Talbi and Ahmed Muhumed, two African-born naturalized U.S. citizens, and Ryan Ford, finished sixth, seventh and 10th, respectively.

The race was won by Sweden’s Andreas Almgren with a time of 2:06:01.

Mantz, a two-time NCAA champion at BYU who grew up in Smithfield, was a dominant figure on the road-racing circuit until injuries put him on the sideline for a year. Sunday’s New York race was his first marathon since Oct. 12, 2025, when he set the American record of 2:04:43 and finished fourth in Chicago. Since then he had been sidelined by injuries — two sacral stress fractures as well as related stress reactions in the pelvis.

“I don’t know what it was,” Mantz told Let’s Run after the race. “It just seemed like my legs weren’t there today … I don’t know. Some days you really have it and some days … I’m kind of speechless right now. My workouts have gone so well. I don’t know. I gotta get a little bit fitter. I’ve got some work to do.”

Asked if the injuries played a role, he said, “I think a lot mentally, probably physically too.”

Mantz had attached himself to the lead pack until about 21 miles during Sunday’s race, but then he fell off the pace and never recovered.

“I felt like I was making moves well,” he said. “Then I had to make a couple of stops at the water stations and it got crowded. When people cut in front of you and they stop, you have to stop. So at 35K by the time I got my (water) bottle, I was behind the pack by a good 15 meters. After that I just couldn’t get going.”

Aiden Troutner, who was Mantz’s teammate at BYU, placed 14th in New York Sunday, finishing with a time of 2:08:54.