Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon

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Men's marathon
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
Samuel Wanjiru at 2008 Summer Olympics.jpg
Samuel Wanjiru
Venue Beijing
DatesAugust 24
Competitors95 from 56 nations
Winning time2:06:32 OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Samuel Wanjiru
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
Silver medal icon.svg Jaouad Gharib
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
Bronze medal icon.svg Tsegay Kebede
Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia
  2004
2012  

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. [1] It was (as of today) 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. [2] 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. [3] 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.

Summary

It began in the early morning instead of the traditional late at night start. Through 10k, a group of 8 was at front. They were all broken down to five at 20k. At the front was Eritrean Yonas Kifle, Ethiopian Deriba Merga, Kenya's Martin Lel and Sammy Wanjiru, and Moroccan Jaouad Gharib. over the next 10k Deriba Merga started to press the pace, dropping Lel and Kifle. Just after 30k, Sammy Wanjiru attacked Deriba Merga who would crack and fade out of the medals. Sammy Wanjiru continued to sustain his gap back to Gharib. Gharib slowly reeled the deficit back but Wanjiru won the gold medal in an Olympic record 2:06:32. Gharib got silver, and Tsegaye Kebede pulled himself into third to take the bronze.

Background

This was the 26th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The defending champion, Stefano Baldini of Italy, was the only returning runner from the top ten finishers in the 2004 marathon. The reigning champion (from 2007) was Luke Kibet Bowen of Kenya; he had been injured during rioting in Kenya and had not yet regained top form, but did enter as an injury replacement. Jaouad Gharib of Morocco had won the 2003 and 2005 world championships; he competed in Beijing. The favorite would have been well-established 10,000 metres runner Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, who had started competing in marathons in 2005 and broken the world record at the 2007 Berlin race; Haile did not run in Beijing due to air quality concerns. The race was thus "wide open." [2]

Eritrea, Kazakhstan, and Montenegro each made their first appearance in Olympic men's marathons. The United States made its 25th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Qualification

Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) was able to enter up to three entrants providing they had met the A qualifying standard (2:15:00) in the qualifying period (1 January 2007 to 23 July 2008). NOCs were also permitted to enter one athlete providing he had met the B standard (2:18:00) in the same qualifying period. [4] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.

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. [2]

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:

World recordFlag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Haile Gebrselassie  (ETH)2:04:26 Berlin, Germany28 September 2007
Olympic recordFlag of Portugal.svg  Carlos Lopes  (POR)2:09:21 Los Angeles, United States12 August 1984

Samuel Wanjiru set a new Olympic record at 2:06:32.

Schedule

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

DateTimeRound
Sunday, 24 August 20087:30Final

Results

Seventy-six runners finished; 19 did not. [5]

RankAthleteNationTimeNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Samuel Wanjiru Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:06:32 OR
Silver medal icon.svg Jaouad Gharib Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 2:07:16
Bronze medal icon.svg Tsegaye Kebede Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia 2:10:00
4 Deriba Merga Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia 2:10:21
5 Martin Lel Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 2:10:24
6 Viktor Röthlin Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 2:10:35
7 Gashaw Asfaw Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia 2:10:52
8 Yared Asmerom Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea 2:11:11
9 Dathan Ritzenhein Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:11:59
10 Ryan Hall Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:12:33
11 Mike Fokoroni Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 2:13:17 PB
12 Stefano Baldini Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:13:25
13 Tsuyoshi Ogata Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2:13:26 SB
14 Grigoriy Andreyev Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 2:13:33
15 Ruggero Pertile Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:13:39
16 José Manuel Martínez Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 2:14:00
17 Francis Kirwa Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:14:22
18 Lee Myong-Seung Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 2:14:37
19 Janne Holmén Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 2:14:44
20 Abderrahim Goumri Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 2:15:00
21 Aleksey Sokolov Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 2:15:57
22 Brian Sell Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2:16:07
23 Ottaviano Andriani Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2:16:10
24 Dan Robinson Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 2:16:14
25 Deng Haiyang Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 2:16:17
26 Abderrahime Bouramdane Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 2:17:42
27 Vasyl Matviychuk Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 2:17:50
28 Lee Bong-Ju Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 2:17:56
29 Oleg Kulkov Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 2:18:11
30 Paulo Gomes Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2:18:15
31 Alex Malinga Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 2:18:26
32 Carlos Cordero Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2:18:40
33 Ri Kum-Song Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 2:19:08
34 Henryk Szost Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 2:19:43
35 José Amado García Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 2:20:15
36 Yonas Kifle Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea 2:20:23
37 Nasar Sakar Saeed Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 2:20:24
38 José de Souza Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 2:20:25
39 Kamiel Maase Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2:20:30
40 Pak Song-Chol Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 2:21:16
41 Iaroslav Musinschi Flag of Moldova (3-2).svg  Moldova 2:21:18
42 Kim Il-Nam Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 2:21:51
43 Juan Carlos Cardona Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 2:21:57
44 Hendrick Ramaala Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 2:22:43
45 Arjun Kumar Basnet Flag of Nepal.svg  Nepal 2:23:09 PB
46 Hélder Ornelas Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2:23:20
47 Procopio Franco Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2:23:24
48 Nelson Cruz Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde 2:23:47
49 Roberto Echeverría Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2:23:54
50 Kim Yi-Yong Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 2:23:57
51 Li Zhuhong Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 2:24:08
52 Bat-Ochiryn Ser-Od Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia 2:24:19
53 Norman Dlomo Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 2:24:28
54 Arkadiusz Sowa Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 2:24:48
55 Samson Ramadhani Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 2:25:03
56 Ndabili Bashingili Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 2:25:11
57 Simon Munyutu Flag of France.svg  France 2:25:50
58 Antoni Bernadó Flag of Andorra.svg  Andorra 2:26:29
59 Wu Wen-Chien Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei 2:26:55
60 Lee Troop Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 2:27:17
61 Constantino León Flag of Peru.svg  Peru 2:28:04
62 Goran Stojiljković Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 2:28:14
63 Alfredo Arévalo Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 2:28:26
64 Yousf Othman Qader Flag of Qatar (3-2).svg  Qatar 2:28:40
65 Franklin Tenorio Flag of Ecuador (1900-2009).svg  Ecuador 2:29:05
66 Francisco Bautista Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2:29:28
67 Roman Kejžar Civil Ensign of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 2:29:37
68 Joachim Nshimirimana Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi 2:29:55
69 Seteng Ayele Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 2:30:07
70 Takhir Mamashayev Flag of Kazakhstan (3-2).svg  Kazakhstan 2:30:26
71Abdil CeylanFlag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 2:31:43
72 José Ríos Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 2:32:35
73 Hem Bunting Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 2:33:32
74 Marcel Tschopp Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein 2:35:06
75 Pavel Loskutov Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 2:39:01
76 Atsushi Sato Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2:41:08
Tesfayohannes Mesfen Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea DNFAfter 35 km
Julio Rey Flag of Spain.svg  Spain DNFAfter 35 km
Martin Fagan Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland DNFAfter 30 km
Al Mustafa Riyadh Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain DNFAfter 30 km
Ali Mabrouk El Zaidi Flag of Libya (1977-2011).svg  Libya DNFAfter 30 km
Marilson dos Santos Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil DNFAfter 30 km
Luke Kibet Bowen [lower-alpha 1] Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya DNFAfter 25 km
Abdulhak Elgorche Zakaria Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain DNFAfter 25 km
Luis Fonseca Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela DNFAfter 25 km
Oleksandr Sitkovskyy Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine DNFAfter half
Franck de Almeida Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil DNFAfter half
Andrei Gordeev Flag of Belarus (1995-2012).svg  Belarus DNFAfter half
João N'Tyamba Flag of Angola.svg  Angola DNFAfter half
Moses Moeketsi Mosuhli Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho DNFAfter 20 km
Getuli Bayo Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania DNFAfter 20 km
Mubarak Hassan Shami Flag of Qatar (3-2).svg  Qatar DNFAfter 15 km
Simon Tsotang Maine Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho DNFAfter 10 km
Clement Mabothile Lebopo Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho DNFAfter 5 km
Olexandr Kuzin Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine DNFAfter 0 km
Mohamed Ikoki Msandeki Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania DNS
Satoshi Osaki Flag of Japan.svg  Japan DNS
Augusto Soares Flag of East Timor.svg  East Timor DNS

Intermediates

DistanceAthleteNationTime
10 km1. José Manuel Martínez Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 29:25
2. Deriba Merga Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia s.t.
3. Martin Lel Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya s.t.
4. Yared Asmerom Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea s.t.
5. Yonas Kifle Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea +0:01
20 km1. Deriba Merga Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia 59:10
2. Yonas Kifle Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea s.t.
3. Martin Lel Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya s.t.
4. Jaouad Gharib Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco s.t.
5. Samuel Kamau Wanjiru Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya s.t.
30 km1. Deriba Merga Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia 1:29:14
2. Samuel Kamau Wanjiru Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya s.t.
3. Jaouad Gharib Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco +0:04
4. Martin Lel Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya +0:09
5. Yonas Kifle Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea +0:15
40 km1. Samuel Kamau Wanjiru Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1:59:54
2. Jaouad Gharib Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco +0:18
3. Deriba Merga Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia +1:57
4. Tsegay Kebede Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia +2:43
5. Martin Lel Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya +3:04

s.t. - same time.

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 "Marathon, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  3. "Kenyan wins marathon gold". Associated Press via Sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
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  5. "Iaaf.org - Olympic Games 2008 - Results 08-17-2008 - Marathon M Final". Archived from the original on 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  6. Athletics at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games: Men's Marathon. Sports Reference. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
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Notes
  1. Note that some sources, such as Sports Reference and the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, suggest that the Kenyan competitor Luke Kibet was Luke Kibet Chebii (born 1973) rather than Luke Kibet Bowen (born 1983). [6] [7] This is incorrect, as it was the younger, reigning world champion who was called from the reserve pool to compete and was clearly visible at the race. [8] [9]