Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase 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.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion and the world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:01:09 set at the 2022 Berlin Marathon. He has run four of the six fastest marathons in history.
Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah is a British-Somali retired long-distance runner. Considered one of the greatest runners of all time, his ten global championship gold medals make him the most successful male track distance runner ever, and he is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history.
Michael Shelley is an Australian long-distance runner who competes in track events and road races. He has won gold medals in the marathon event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, Scotland, as well as the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia. He has also represented Australia at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. On the road, he has won at the Gold Coast Half Marathon and the City2Surf race in Sydney.
Andrew James Vernon is a British long-distance runner who specialised in the 5000 metres, the 10,000 metres on track and cross country running. After the 2018 commonwealth games and started to concentrate on the roads winning Manchester Half Marathon with the aim of doing a full marathon in 2019. Vernon competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's 10,000 metres. He has also competed in two Commonwealth Games, a World Indoor Championship and six World Cross Country Championships. Vernon is a two-time European Athletics Championship medallist and a Summer Universiade gold medallist. He currently competes for Aldershot, Farnham & District AC.
Stephen Mokoka is a South African long-distance runner who competes in races ranging from 3000 metres to the 50 km distance. He formerly held the 50 km world record. He is a four-time medalist at the Universiade and has represented South Africa internationally in road, cross country, and track events. He represented South Africa in the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics.
Stephen Kiprotich is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is an Olympic marathon champion, having won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Kiprotich also won a gold at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. After Gezahegne Abera, he is the second person to follow an Olympic marathon title with a world championship gold medal for the same event.
Olivier Irabaruta is a Burundian long-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Men's 5000 metres, finishing 29th overall in Round 1, failing to qualify for the final.
Zane Robertson is a New Zealand middle and long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 5000 metres at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Robertson is the Oceanian record holder for the 10 kilometres and half marathon, and New Zealand record holder for the marathon. He also holds the area best in the road 10 miles. He is currently serving an eight-year ban for breaching two World Athletics anti-doping rules.
Tanzania competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Seven athletes, five men and two women, competed in five events across three sports, but did not win any medals. Hilal Hemed Hilal, however, set a new national record in the men's 50 m freestyle event. Four athletes took part in track and field athletics, all in marathons, while two participated in the swimming tournament's 50 m freestyle category. The flagbearer for the opening ceremony was Andrew Thomas Mlugu, who was Tanzania's first Olympic judoka. His counterpart in the closing ceremony was Alphonce Felix Simbu, who had earned the nation's best finish at the Games by placing fifth in the men's marathon. Prior to these Games, Tanzania had sent athletes to twelve editions of the Summer Olympics.
Tadesse Abraham is an Eritrea-born Swiss long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon.
Aron Kifle Teklu is an Eritrean long-distance runner. He is the bronze medallist from the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia. Aron is also the silver medallist in the 10000m from both the 2016 World U20 Championships and the 2019 All-African Games.
Tamirat Tola Abera is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in track, road and cross country events. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Tamirat competed in the marathon at the 2017 and 2022 World Athletics Championships, earning silver and gold respectively, setting a championship record at the latter in the process. He finished third at the 2021 Tokyo and 2023 London Marathon.
Callum Robert Hawkins is a British distance runner, who competed in the marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He is the Scottish record holder in the marathon and the British all-time number three at that distance behind Mo Farah and Steve Jones. Hawkins is also the all-time Great Britain number two in the half marathon. He is the Great Scottish Run course record holder and was the first British man to win that event in 23 years.
Jacob Kiplimo is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the world record holder for the half marathon, which he set on 21 November 2021 in Lisbon with a time of 57:31. He is also the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 10,000 metres bronze medallist and won bronze in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Kiplimo earned gold medals for the 5000 metres and 10,000 m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He is the 2020 World Half Marathon champion. He won silver and gold medal at the 2019 and 2023 World Cross Country Championships respectively.
Abraham Niyonkuru is a Burundian track and field athlete who specialises in the marathon, the 10,000 metres and cross country running. Niyonkuru competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the Olympics, he competed in the marathon. Niyonkuru has also competed in a World Junior Championships, two World Cross Country Championships, a Jeux de la Francophonie, a World Military Track and Field Championships and an Auray-Vannes Half Marathon.
The men's marathon at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held on 6 August, starting and finishing on Tower Bridge.
Gabriel Gerald Geay is a Tanzanian professional long-distance runner. He finished second at the 2023 Boston Marathon.
The men's marathon event at the 2020 Summer Olympics started at 07:00 on 8 August 2021 in Sapporo, Japan. 106 athletes from 46 nations competed. The previous Olympic champion, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, successfully defended his title, with Dutch and Belgian athletes Abdi Nageeye and Bashir Abdi gaining silver and bronze, respectively. Kipchoge was the third man to repeat as Olympic marathon champion, after Abebe Bikila and Waldemar Cierpinski. The Netherlands and Belgium earned their first men's marathon medals since 1980 and 1976, respectively.
The men's marathon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, was held in Victoria Square, Birmingham on 30 July 2022.
