Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon

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Men's marathon
at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
Track & Field 1984 Olympics tickets.jpg
Tickets for Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Venue Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
DateAugust 12
Competitors107 from 59 nations
Winning time2:09:21 OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Carlos Lopes
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
Silver medal icon.svg John Treacy
Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland
Bronze medal icon.svg Charlie Spedding
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
  1980
1988  

The men's marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, was held on Sunday August 12, 1984. The race started at 5:00 pm local time. There were 107 competitors from 59 countries. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. A total number of 78 athletes completed the race.

The race was won by Carlos Lopes of Portugal, giving Portugal its first medal in the men's marathon, as well as its first ever gold medal at the Olympics. [1] His time of 2:09:21 was the Olympic record for the next 24 years. [2] Ireland also won its first men's marathon medal, with John Treacy's silver. Great Britain returned to the podium for the first time since 1964 with Charlie Spedding taking bronze.

Background

This was the 20th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning runners from the 1980 marathon included silver medalist Gerard Nijboer of the Netherlands, sixth-place finisher Rodolfo Gómez of Mexico, ninth-place finisher (and 1972 silver and 1976 bronze medalist) Karel Lismont of Belgium, and tenth-place finisher Robert de Castella of Australia. The two-time defending champion, Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany, was prevented from trying for a third gold by the Eastern Bloc boycott.

The two favorites[ citation needed ] were de Castella (1981 Fukuoka winner, in world record time, and 1983 World Championships winner) and Toshihiko Seko of Japan (1981 Boston winner and 1978–1980 and 1983 Fukuoka winner). [3] Alberto Salazar of the United States had a strong 1980 to 1982 (1980–1982 New York winner and 1982 Boston winner), [4] but had less good results in 1983, and had finished second at the USA trials. [3]

Botswana, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, Djibouti, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, the Virgin Islands, and Zaire each made their first appearance in Olympic men's marathons; the Republic of China made its first appearance as Chinese Taipei. The United States made its 19th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Competition format and course

As all Olympic marathons, the competition was a single race. The marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards was run over a point-to-point route starting at Santa Monica College and ending at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. [4]

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics.

World recordFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Robert de Castella  (AUS)2:08:18 Fukuoka, Japan 6 December 1981
Olympic recordFlag of East Germany.svg  Waldemar Cierpinski  (GDR)2:09:55.0 Montreal, Canada 31 July 1976

Carlos Lopes set a new Olympic record at 2:09:21.

Schedule

All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)

DateTimeRound
Sunday, 12 August 198417:15Final

Results

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Carlos Lopes Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2:09:21 OR
Silver medal icon.svg John Treacy Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 2:09:56
Bronze medal icon.svg Charlie Spedding Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:09:58
4 Takeshi So Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:10:55
5 Robert de Castella Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:11:09
6 Juma Ikangaa Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 2:11:10
7 Joseph Nzau Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:11:28
8 Djama Robleh Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 2:11:39
9 Jerry Kiernan Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 2:12:20
10 Rod Dixon Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 2:12:57
11 Pete Pfitzinger Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:13:53
12 Hugh Jones Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:13:57
13 Jorge González Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 2:14:00
14 Toshihiko Seko Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:14:13
15 Alberto Salazar Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:14:19
16 Mehmet Terzi Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 2:14:20
17 Shigeru So Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 2:14:38
18 Ralf Salzmann Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 2:15:29
19 Henrik Jørgensen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2:15:55
20 Hussein Ahmed Salah Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 2:15:59
21 Agapius Masong Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 2:16:25
22 Gidamis Shahanga Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 2:16:27
23 Eloi Schleder Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg  Brazil 2:16:35
24 Karel Lismont Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2:17:07
25 Allan Zachariasen Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2:17:10
26 Michail Koussis Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 2:17:38
27 Pertti Tiainen Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:17:43
28 Alain Lazare Flag of France.svg  France 2:17:52
29 Vincent Ruguga Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 2:17:54
30 Armand Parmentier Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2:18:10
31 César Mercado Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 2:19:09
32 Omar Abdillahi Charmarke Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 2:19:11
33 Øyvind Dahl Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 2:19:28
34 Derek Froude Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 2:19:44
35 Giovanni d'Aleo Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:20:12
36 Jesús Herrera Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2:20:33
37 Lee Hong-yeol Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea 2:20:56
38 Juan Camacho Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia 2:21:04
39 Cor Vriend Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2:21:08
40 Frans Ntaole Flag of Lesotho (1966-1987).svg  Lesotho 2:21:09
41 Johan Geirnaert Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2:21:35
42 Jacques Boxberger Flag of France.svg  France 2:22:00
43 Marco Marchei Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:22:38
44 Art Boileau Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 2:22:43
45 Samuel Hlawe Flag of Swaziland.svg  Swaziland 2:22:45
46 Baikuntha Manandhar Flag of Nepal.svg  Nepal 2:22:52
47 Ahmed Mohamed Ismail Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia 2:23:27
48 Chae Hong-nak Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea 2:23:33
49 Joseph Otieno Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:24:13
50 Bruno Lafranchi Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 2:24:38
51 Dick Hooper Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland 2:24:41
52 Derick Adamson Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 2:25:02
53 Claudio Cabán Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 2:27:16
54 Marc Agosta Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 2:27:41
55 Wilson Theleso Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 2:29:20
56 Alejandro Silva Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2:29:53
57 Chen Chang-ming Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei 2:29:53
58 Kim Won-sik Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea 2:30:57
59 Rubén Aguiar Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina 2:31:18
60 Sabag Shemtov Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 2:31:34
61 Vincent Rakabaele Flag of Lesotho (1966-1987).svg  Lesotho 2:32:15
62 Marios Kassianidis Flag of Cyprus (1960-2006).svg  Cyprus 2:32:51
63 Arjun Pandit Flag of Nepal.svg  Nepal 2:32:53
64 Ismael Mahmoud Ghassab Flag of Jordan (3-2).svg  Jordan 2:33:30
65 Alain Bordeleau Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 2:34:27
66 Tau John Tokwepota Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 2:36:36
67 Patric Nyambariro-Nhauro Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 2:37:18
68 Kimurgor Ngeny Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:37:19
69 Amiri Yadav Flag of Nepal.svg  Nepal 2:38:10
70 Adolphe Ambowode Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic 2:41:26
71 Carlos Ávila Flag of Honduras (before 2022).svg  Honduras 2:42:03
72 Jules Randrianarivelo Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar 2:43:05
73Abdul Lahij AhmedFlag of Somalia.svg  Somalia 2:44:39The Los Angeles Times described Ahmed's Olympic finish as follows: "In one dramatic moment, Somalian runner Abdulahij Ahmed entered the stadium, obviously in pain. The stadium crowd rose to its feet, cheering wildly to encourage him to finish. He did." [5]
74 George Mambosasa Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 2:46:14
75 Marlon Williams Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg  Virgin Islands 2:46:50
76 Johnson Mbangiwa Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 2:48:12
77 Leonardo Illut Flag of the Philippines (1936-1985, 1986-1998).svg  Philippines 2:49:39
78 Dieudonné LaMothe Flag of Haiti (1964-1986).svg  Haiti 2:52:18
Awadh Al-Sameer Flag of Oman (1970-1995).svg  Oman DNF
Ahmet Altun Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey DNF
Dave Edge Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada DNF
Matthews Kambale Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi DNF
Ronald Lanzoni Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica DNF
Bigboy Matlapeng Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana DNF
Tommy Persson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden DNF
Kjell-Erik Ståhl Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden DNF
Domingo Tibaduiza Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia DNF
Rodolfo Gómez Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico DNF
Gerard Nijboer Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands DNF
Gerhard Hartmann Flag of Austria.svg  Austria DNF
Omar Aguilar Flag of Chile.svg  Chile DNF
Filippos Filippou Flag of Cyprus (1960-2006).svg  Cyprus DNF
Juan Carlos Traspaderne Flag of Spain.svg  Spain DNF
Santiago de la Parte Flag of Spain.svg  Spain DNF
Geoff Smith Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain DNF
Nimley Twegbe Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberia DNF
Miguel Angel Cruz Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico DNF
Cor Lambregts Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands DNF
Stig Roar Husby Flag of Norway.svg  Norway DNF
Cidálio Caetano Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal DNF
Delfim Moreira Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal DNF
Ibrahim Al-Taher Flag of Qatar (3-2).svg  Qatar DNF
Mehmet Yurdadön Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey DNF
Wilson Achia Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda DNF
John Tuttle Flag of the United States.svg  United States DNF
Masini Situ-Kumbanga Flag of Zaire (1971-1997).svg  Zaire DNF
Tommy Lazarus Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe DNF
Martti Vainio Flag of Finland.svg  Finland DNS

See also

References

  1. "Four medals for Portugal in Tokyo 2021". The Portugal News. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  2. "Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Marathon". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 1984 - Looking back on one of the best U.S. Olympic marathon trials ever, Runner's World, January 10, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Marathon, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  5. Mark A. Stein (August 13, 1984). "High-Tech Glitter Closes L.A. Games: Laser-Illuminated Ceremony Follows Finish of Marathon Before 92,655". Los Angeles Times via Newspapers.com.