The Men's marathon at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on August 29 in the streets of Athens, Greece where one hundred and one athletes from 59 nations competed. The event was won by Stefano Baldini of Italy, the nation's first victory in the event since 1988 and second overall. The United States reached the podium in the event for the first time since 1976 with Meb Keflezighi's silver. Vanderlei de Lima took bronze, Brazil's first-ever medal in the men's marathon.
Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase[nb] is a retired Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics made him the first ever Eritrean Olympic medallist, and his 20-km title at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships also made him the country's first athlete to win at a world championship event. He does not use a sprint finish to win races; his strategy relies on a combination of efficient running and fast pace setting.
Renato Canova is an Italian athletics coach.
Marta Domínguez Azpeleta is a Spanish former runner and politician. She competes mainly in the steeplechase. She has represented Spain four times at the Olympics and has competed at the World Championships on six occasions.
José Manuel ("Chema") Martínez Fernández is a Spanish long-distance runner. He is married to Spanish field hockey player Nuria Moreno.
Christian Belz is a Swiss long-distance runner. He was initially a steeplechaser and represented Switzerland in the event at the World Championships in Athletics in 1999 and 2001 as well as the 2000 Summer Olympics. He broke the national record with a run of 8:22.24 in June 2001. Later that year he won two bronze medals at the 2001 Summer Universiade.
Valentina Mikhailovna Yegorova is a long-distance runner from Russia. She was born in Cheboksary. Her first medal in the marathon came at the 1990 European Athletics Championships, where she was the silver medallist.
The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 27 July to 1 August 2010. Barcelona was the first Spanish city to host the European Championships.
Viktor Röthlin is a Swiss former long-distance runner, who specialized in the marathon.
Valeriy Viktorovich Borchin is a race walker from Russia who won the 2008 Olympic gold medal and was World champion over the 20 km distance. His World Championship was retroactively stripped in 2015 due to doping.
Jéssica de Barros Augusto, ComM is a Portuguese runner who competes in cross country, road running and in middle-distance and long-distance track events. At club level, she represents Sporting CP.
The men's marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 24 August at 7:30am in Beijing, ending in the Beijing National Stadium. It was the last time in Summer Olympics history that the start and/or finish of the men's marathon route was located inside the Olympic Stadium. Ninety-five athletes from 56 nations competed. The winner of the event was Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya, who set an Olympic record in the time of two hours, six minutes, and 32 seconds. It was Kenya's first victory in the men's marathon. Morocco won its first medal in the event since 1960, with Jaouad Gharib's silver. Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia took bronze.
The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake.
Christopher Thompson is a British long-distance runner, who won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, on 27 July 2010 behind his compatriot Mo Farah. Prior to his 2010 medal win he had won the European U23 5000 m Championship in 2003. However he was initially unable to build on this victory, as he had substantial injury problems for a number of years. He is currently coached by Alan Storey.
Dmitriy Olegovich Safronov is a Russian long-distance runner who specialises in marathon running.
The men's marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on the Olympic marathon street course on 12 August, the final day of the Games. One hundred and five athletes from 67 nations competed. The event was won by Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, the nation's first Olympic men's marathon victory and the nation's only medal in 2012. Kenya earned its fourth and fifth medals in five Games, with Abel Kirui's silver and Wilson Kipsang's bronze.
Matthias Kyburz is a Swiss competitor in orienteering and athletics. In orienteering, Kyburz has attained gold medals in the Junior World Orienteering Championships, European Orienteering Championships and the World Orienteering Championships. In athletics, Kyburz is a long-distance specialist; Kyburz attained the world record in 50 km on a treadmill of 2:56:35 on 16 April 2020, breaking a record held by Florian Neuschwander. On 7 April 2024 Kyburz ran 2:07:44 in his Marathon debut, becoming the third fastest Swiss athlete of all time over the distance after Tadesse Abraham and his coach Viktor Röthlin, and achieving the qualifying standard for the 2024 Olympic Games. In the Olympic Marathon, Kyburz finished in 30th place.
Roger Puigbò i Verdaguer is Spanish track and field athlete. He has a disability and uses a wheelchair. He is a long-distance athlete, competing in wheelchair marathons around the world. Puigbo competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics, 2008 Summer Paralympics, and 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Tadesse Abraham is an Eritrean-born Swiss long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He was the 2016 European half marathon champion and finished seventh at the 2016 Olympics. He won a silver medal in the marathon at the 2018 European Championships. He also held two Swiss titles for the 10,000 metres in 2020 as well as the marathon in 2022.
Lonah Korlima Chemtai Salpeter is an Israeli Olympic runner. Born in Kenya, she represents Israel internationally. She won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. At the European Athletics Championships in the 10,000 metres, Salpeter won the gold medal in 2018, and earned a bronze medal in 2022. She won the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, won the silver medal at the 2022 New York City Marathon, and finished third at the 2023 Boston Marathon.
