DALLAS—In just 24 hours, her face and name have become world famous for what’s seen as a supreme act of sportsmanship.
Dallas-area high-school student Ariana Luterman was finishing the anchor leg of a girls’ relay in Sunday’s Dallas Marathon when she saw the legs of the women’s marathon leader, Dr. Chandler Self, start to buckle from exhaustion yards from the finish line.
Acting apparently instinctively, Luterman helped Self to her feet and half-carried her to the finish line, giving the New York City psychiatrist the women’s championship. Self’s family later told her she’d been credited with the win.
Self said Luterman came alongside her 2 miles from the finish and encouraged her to finish the race. Video of the finish has gone viral.
Reigning New York City Marathon winner Shalane Flanagan, meanwhile, will run in Boston next year in a fourth attempt to win her hometown race.
The four-time Olympian and reigning Chicago Marathon champion will be joined on the men’s side by Galen Rupp in a field of elite Americans announced on Monday by race sponsor John Hancock. Olympians Desiree Linden, Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahman, Deena Kastor and Molly Huddle also are signed up for the 122nd edition of the world’s oldest annual marathon, which is being held on April 16.
Last month Flanagan became the first American woman to win New York since 1977. No United States woman has won Boston since 1985. But in April the Americans had their best finishes since then, grabbing two of the top 4 women’s spots and six of the top 10 for men.
Image credits: AP