But Gobena had reserves, too. Both men gritted their teeth and pushed to the finish, with Gobena appearing to tumble toward Mantz as they broke the tape. In the end, the photo finish was called for Gobena, by .04 seconds.

On Sunday the Olympian from Utah broke the American record in the half marathon at the Houston Half Marathon. Mantz ran a blistering time of 59 minutes, 17 seconds. In a photo finish, he placed second, even though he and Ethiopian Addisu Gobena were credited with the same time.

American record holder Weini Kelati and top marathon Americans Conner Mantz and Clayton Young will take to the roads for the Houston Half Marathon.

In a thrilling, nail-biting finish, Olympic marathoner Conner Mantz shattered the long-standing American record in the half marathon, running 59:17 Sunday morning in Houston. The time betters Ryan Hall’s mark of 59:43,

Freezing rain and powerful winds couldn’t stop American runners from making history at the Houston Half Marathon on Sunday morning. U.S. Olympian Conner Mantz clocked 59:17, taking down Ryan Hall’ s 18-year-old American record of 59: 43,

Conner Mantz made history Sunday by besting an American running record that had stood for 18 years. The former BYU runner finished the Houston Half Marathon in 59:17, 26 seconds faster than Ryan Hall’s 59:43 from 2007.