Marathons at the Olympics

The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first modern Olympics in 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the programme at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Marathon
at the Olympic Games
Burton Holmes' photograph entitled 1896: Three athletes in training for the marathon at the Olympic Games in Athens
Overview
SportAthletics
GenderMen and women
Years heldMen: 18962020
Women: 19842020
Olympic record
Men2:06:32 Samuel Wanjiru (2008)
Women2:23:07 Tiki Gelana (2012)
Reigning champion
Men Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
Women Peres Jepchirchir (KEN)

History

The modern marathon event was created and later refined through the Olympic competition. The idea of holding a marathon race at the first Olympics was suggested to Pierre de Coubertin by Michel Bréal. Based upon a popular myth stemming from the Battle of Marathon, in which Pheidippides ran to Athens from the town of Marathon, Greece to carry the message of a Greek victory, the 1896 course began in the town of Marathon and finished in Athens' Panathenaic Stadium – a distance of around 40 kilometres (25 mi).[1] On April 10, 1896, Greek water-carrier Spyridon Louis won the first Olympic marathon in 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds. The route between Marathon and Panathenaic Stadium was repeated when Athens hosted the 2004 Games.

The race distance varied from 40 to 42 kilometres (25 to 26 mi) in the early editions as it was typically based upon the distance between two points that the organisers felt were suitable. The 1908 London Olympics marked the introduction of the now standard distance of 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km).[2] However, it was not until the 1924 Paris Olympics that this distance became the standard at the Olympics.[3]

The Olympic marathon proved immediately popular in the Western world and quickly spawned numerous long-running annual races, including the Boston Marathon in 1897, the Tour de Paris Marathon in 1902, the Yonkers Marathon in 1907, and the London Polytechnic Marathon in 1909. Such marathons played a key role in the expansion of the road running movement internationally over the course of the 20th century.[4][5]

It has become a tradition for the men's Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, on the final day of the Olympics.[6] For many years since the 1964 Tokyo Games, the race finished inside the Olympic stadium; however, at the 2004 Athens games, the finish was at the historic Panathenaic Stadium, at the 2012 London games, the start and finish were on The Mall,[7] and at the 2016 Rio games, the start and finish were in the Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí, the parade area that serves as a spectator mall for Carnival.[8] At the 2020 Tokyo games, the marathon was instead held in Sapporo due to heat concerns in the host city.[9] Often, the men's marathon medals are awarded at the closing ceremony. In 2020, both the men's and women's medals were presented.

The Olympic records for the event are 2:06:32 hours for men, set by Samuel Wanjiru in 2008, and 2:23:07 hours for women, set by Tiki Gelana in 2012. The men's marathon world record has been improved several times at the Olympics: in 1908, 1920, and then at successive Olympics by Abebe Bikila in 1960 and 1964.[10] Abebe Bikila, Waldemar Cierpinski, and Eliud Kipchoge are the only athletes to have won two Olympic gold medals in the marathon. No athlete has won more than two medals of any colour. Ethiopia have won the most gold medals in the event, with six, while Kenya has the greatest medal total with fifteen overall.

Medal summary

Men

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1896 Athens
Spyridon Louis
 Greece
Charilaos Vasilakos
 Greece
Gyula Kellner
 Hungary
1900 Paris
Michel Théato
 Luxembourg[11][12]
Émile Champion
 France
Ernst Fast
 Sweden
1904 St. Louis
Thomas Hicks
 United States
Albert Corey
 France[13][14]
Arthur Newton
 United States
1908 London
Johnny Hayes
 United States
Charles Hefferon
 South Africa
Joseph Forshaw
 United States
1912 Stockholm
Ken McArthur
 South Africa
Christian Gitsham
 South Africa
Gaston Strobino
 United States
1920 Antwerp
Hannes Kolehmainen
 Finland
Jüri Lossmann
 Estonia
Valerio Arri
 Italy
1924 Paris
Albin Stenroos
 Finland
Romeo Bertini
 Italy
Clarence DeMar
 United States
1928 Amsterdam
Boughera El Ouafi
 France
Manuel Plaza
 Chile
Martti Marttelin
 Finland
1932 Los Angeles
Juan Carlos Zabala
 Argentina
Sam Ferris
 Great Britain
Armas Toivonen
 Finland
1936 Berlin
Sohn Kee-chung
 Japan[15]
Ernest Harper
 Great Britain
Nam Sung-yong
 Japan[15]
1948 London
Delfo Cabrera
 Argentina
Tom Richards
 Great Britain
Étienne Gailly
 Belgium
1952 Helsinki
Emil Zátopek
 Czechoslovakia
Reinaldo Gorno
 Argentina
Gustaf Jansson
 Sweden
1956 Melbourne
Alain Mimoun
 France
Franjo Mihalić
 Yugoslavia
Veikko Karvonen
 Finland
1960 Rome
Abebe Bikila
 Ethiopia
Rhadi Ben Abdesselam
 Morocco
Barry Magee
 New Zealand
1964 Tokyo
Abebe Bikila
 Ethiopia
Basil Heatley
 Great Britain
Kokichi Tsuburaya
 Japan
1968 Mexico City
Mamo Wolde
 Ethiopia
Kenji Kimihara
 Japan
Mike Ryan
 New Zealand
1972 Munich
Frank Shorter
 United States
Karel Lismont
 Belgium
Mamo Wolde
 Ethiopia
1976 Montreal
Waldemar Cierpinski
 East Germany
Frank Shorter
 United States
Karel Lismont
 Belgium
1980 Moscow
Waldemar Cierpinski
 East Germany
Gerard Nijboer
 Netherlands
Satymkul Dzhumanazarov
 Soviet Union
1984 Los Angeles
Carlos Lopes
 Portugal
John Treacy
 Ireland
Charlie Spedding
 Great Britain
1988 Seoul
Gelindo Bordin
 Italy
Douglas Wakiihuri
 Kenya
Ahmed Salah
 Djibouti
1992 Barcelona
Hwang Young-cho
 South Korea
Koichi Morishita
 Japan
Stephan Freigang
 Germany
1996 Atlanta
Josia Thugwane
 South Africa
Lee Bong-ju
 South Korea
Erick Wainaina
 Kenya
2000 Sydney
Gezahegne Abera
 Ethiopia
Erick Wainaina
 Kenya
Tesfaye Tola
 Ethiopia
2004 Athens
Stefano Baldini
 Italy
Mebrahtom Keflezighi
 United States
Vanderlei de Lima
 Brazil
2008 Beijing
Samuel Wanjiru
 Kenya
Jaouad Gharib
 Morocco
Tsegay Kebede
 Ethiopia
2012 London
Stephen Kiprotich
 Uganda
Abel Kirui
 Kenya
Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich
 Kenya
2016 Rio de Janeiro
Eliud Kipchoge
 Kenya
Feyisa Lelisa
 Ethiopia
Galen Rupp
 United States
2020 Tokyo
Eliud Kipchoge
 Kenya
Abdi Nageeye
 Netherlands
Bashir Abdi
 Belgium
2024 Paris

Multiple medalists

Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1=Abebe Bikila Ethiopia (ETH)1960–19642002
1=Waldemar Cierpinski East Germany (GDR)1976–19802002
1=Eliud Kipchoge Kenya (KEN)2016–20202002
4Frank Shorter United States (USA)1972–19761102
5Mamo Wolde Ethiopia (ETH)1968–19721012
6=Karel Lismont Belgium (BEL)1972–19760112
6=Erick Wainaina Kenya (KEN)1996–20000112

Medals by country

Map of countries' best results – Men's Marathon
As of the 2020 Olympics
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Ethiopia (ETH)4138
2 Kenya (KEN)3328
3 United States (USA)32510
4 France (FRA)3205
5 South Africa (RSA)2204
6 Italy (ITA)2114
7 Argentina (ARG)2103
8 Finland (FIN)2035
9 East Germany (GDR)2002
10 Japan (JPN)1225
11 Greece (GRE)1102
 South Korea (KOR)1102
13 Czechoslovakia (TCH)1001
 Portugal (POR)1001
 Uganda (UGA)1001
16 Great Britain (GBR)0415
17 Morocco (MAR)0202
 Netherlands (NED)0202
19 Belgium (BEL)0134
20 Chile (CHI)0101
 Estonia (EST)0101
 Ireland (IRL)0101
 Yugoslavia (YUG)0101
24 New Zealand (NZL)0022
 Sweden (SWE)0022
26 Brazil (BRA)0011
 Djibouti (DJI)0011
 Germany (GER)0011
 Hungary (HUN)0011
 Soviet Union (URS)0011
31 Luxembourg (LUX)0000
Totals (31 entries)29292987

Women

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1984 Los Angeles
Joan Benoit
 United States
Grete Waitz
 Norway
Rosa Mota
 Portugal
1988 Seoul
Rosa Mota
 Portugal
Lisa Martin
 Australia
Katrin Dörre
 East Germany
1992 Barcelona
Valentina Yegorova
 Unified Team
Yuko Arimori
 Japan
Lorraine Moller
 New Zealand
1996 Atlanta
Fatuma Roba
 Ethiopia
Valentina Yegorova
 Russia
Yuko Arimori
 Japan
2000 Sydney
Naoko Takahashi
 Japan
Lidia Șimon
 Romania
Joyce Chepchumba
 Kenya
2004 Athens
Mizuki Noguchi
 Japan
Catherine Ndereba
 Kenya
Deena Kastor
 United States
2008 Beijing
Constantina Tomescu
 Romania
Catherine Ndereba
 Kenya
Zhou Chunxiu
 China
2012 London
Tiki Gelana
 Ethiopia
Priscah Jeptoo
 Kenya
Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova
 Russia
2016 Rio de Janeiro
Jemima Sumgong
 Kenya
Eunice Kirwa
 Bahrain
Mare Dibaba
 Ethiopia
2020 Tokyo
Peres Jepchirchir
 Kenya
Brigid Kosgei
 Kenya
Molly Seidel
 United States
2024 Paris

Multiple medalists

Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1Valentina Yegorova Unified Team (EUN)
 Russia (RUS)
1992–19961102
2Rosa Mota Portugal (POR)1984–19881012
3Catherine Ndereba Kenya (KEN)2004–20080202
4Yuko Arimori Japan (JPN)1992–19960112

Medals by country

Map of countries' best results – Women's Marathon
As of the 2020 Olympics
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Kenya (KEN)2417
2 Japan (JPN)2114
3 Ethiopia (ETH)2013
4 Romania (ROM)1102
5 United States (USA)1023
6 Portugal (POR)1012
7 Unified Team (EUN)1001
8 Russia (RUS)0112
9 Australia (AUS)0101
 Bahrain (BRN)0101
 Norway (NOR)0101
12 China (CHN)0011
 East Germany (GDR)0011
 New Zealand (NZL)0011
Totals (14 entries)10101030

Intercalated Games

The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens and at the time were officially recognised as part of the Olympic Games series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon.[16]

At this event a men's marathon was held over 41.86 km and Canada's Billy Sherring won the competition. John Svanberg, the runner-up in the 1906 5-mile race, was also runner-up in the marathon. American William Frank was the bronze medalist.[17]

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1906 Athens
 Billy Sherring (CAN)  John Svanberg (SWE)  William Frank (USA)

References

Participation and athlete data
Olympic record progressions
Specific
  1. Athletics at the 1896 Athina Summer Games: Men's Marathon. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-12.
  2. Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's Marathon. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-12.
  3. Athletics at the 1924 Paris Summer Games: Men's Marathon. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-12.
  4. Longest Running Marathons. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2014-03-12.
  5. Lovett, Charlie (1997). Prologue: The Legend. Marathon Guide. Retrieved on 2014-03-12.
  6. "Marathon Race". Marathon Run Museum. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  7. "Mapping out the London Olympic Marathon course". The AZ Blog. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  8. "Visualizing the Rio Olympic Marathon Course". Runner's World. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  9. INC, SANKEI DIGITAL (2021-08-08). "大迫、服部は先頭集団 男子マラソン5キロ通過". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  10. Butler, Mark, ed. (2011). 13th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Daegu 2011 (PDF). Monaco: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. pp. 595, 612, 614–615, 705, 707. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 18, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  11. In the past, the IOC had attributed Théato's medal to France, despite later sources finding that his nationality was Luxembourgish. The IOC website now recognizes Luxembourg.
  12. "Paris 1900 - Medal Table". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Select "Paris 1900", select "Go to medal table" to arrive at "Paris 1900 Medal Table"
  13. Arriving without correct documents, a French immigrant to the United States Albert Corey is inconsistently listed as performing in a mixed team in the four mile team race (with four undisputed Americans) and performing for the US in the marathon. Currently, the IOC attributes his medal in the marathon to France and in the team race to a mixed team.
  14. "St. Louis 1904 Athletics Marathon Men Results". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  15. Both Sohn Kee-chung and Nam Sung-yong were from Korea. The IOC attributes both medals to Japan due to Korea being a Japanese colony at the time. All Korean Olympians during the Japanese colonial rule could only participate in the games as a representative of Japan and had to compete with Japanese names instead of their original Korean names. However, some sources still refer to Son Kee-chung as the first Korean to win an Olympic marathon today.
  16. 1906 Athina Summer Games. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-01-26.
  17. Athletics at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's Marathon. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-12.
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