Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE is a British former long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon, three-time New York Marathon champion, the 2002 Chicago Marathon winner and the 2005 World Champion in the Marathon from Helsinki. She was previously the fastest female marathoner of all time, and held the Women's World Marathon Record with a time of 2:15:25 for 16 years from 2003 to 2019 when it was broken by Brigid Kosgei.
The women's 10,000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics were held as part of the athletics program at the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 27. No preliminary rounds were held at this distance, since the number of competitors allowed a direct final.
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.
The women's marathon at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on August 22 in the streets of Athens, Greece. These streets were recently painted for the event, which provided an excellent road surface for the athletes. Drawing upon the ancient origins of the race, the marathon began in Marathon, Greece, and eventually ended at Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue previously used for the 1896 Athens Olympics.
Mizuki Noguchi is a Japanese professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon event. She is an Olympic champion over the distance.
Tirunesh Dibaba is an Ethiopian athlete who competes in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medals, five World Championship track gold medals, four individual World Cross Country (WCC) adult titles, and one individual WCC junior title. Tirunesh was the 5,000 metres world record holder until 2020. She is nicknamed the "baby-faced destroyer."
Jaouad Gharib is a Moroccan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. Winner of the 2003 World Championships and 2005 World Championships over the distance, he is also notable because he only began running seriously at the age of twenty-two. His 2005 retention made him the second successive world championship marathon champion, after Abel Antón. He was the silver medallist in the marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Getenesh "Gete" Wami Degife is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner who competed in cross country, track, and road events.
Sun Yingjie is a Chinese female long-distance runner who competes in events ranging from 5000 metres to the marathon. She rose to prominence by winning two gold medals at the 2002 Asian Games. In 2003, she won a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Paris. She won two golds at the 2003 Asian Athletics Championships and won the Beijing Marathon in an Asian record time that year.
Liliya Bulatovna Shobukhova, née Shagbalova, Divorced name Volkova, is a Russian long-distance runner who competed in marathon races. She previously specialized in the 3000 and 5000 metres track events. She served a doping ban until 23 August 2015.
Mara Rosalind Yamauchi is a British long-distance track and road running athlete. She currently holds the third fastest time by a British woman over the marathon, behind former world-record holder, Paula Radcliffe.
Souad Aït Salem, also known as Souad Aït Mahour-Bacha is an Algerian long-distance runner who specializes mainly in the half marathon and marathon. She won gold in the 10,000 metres at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics and the 2005 Mediterranean Games. Salem also won the gold in the half marathon at the 2007 All-Africa Games. She holds the Algerian records for every women's event between 3000 metres and the marathon distance.
Kara Goucher is an American long-distance runner. She was the 10,000 meters silver medalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and represented the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. She made her marathon debut in 2008 and finished third the following year at the Boston Marathon.
Zhu Xiaolin is a female Chinese long-distance runner, who specialises in marathons. She has won the Xiamen International Marathon and was third at the 2010 Rotterdam Marathon. She represented China at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was fourth in the women's marathon. Zhu has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics, where she finished in the top five in the marathon in both 2007 and 2009. Her personal best over the distance is 2 hours and 23:57 minutes.
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 men's 1500 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 15–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Forty-eight athletes from 30 nations competed.
The Men's 10,000 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on August 17 at the Beijing National Stadium. The winning margin was 1.60 seconds.
The men's 20 kilometres walk at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 16 August at the Beijing National Stadium.
Bat-Ochiryn "Ziggy" Ser-Od is a Mongolian long-distance runner, particularly the marathon. He represented his country in the marathon at six Summer Olympics, in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2021 and 2024. A member of the Morpeth Harriers running club, he divides his time between his native country and Gateshead in England.
Ana Maria Guerreiro Dias is a Portuguese long-distance and marathon runner. She is a four-time Olympian, and a multiple-time national record holder for the long-distance running. She also set a personal best time of 2:28:49, by finishing fourth in the women's race at the 2003 Berlin Marathon.
