Hellen Onsando Obiri is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. She is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country. Obiri is a two-time Olympic 5,000 metres silver medallist from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also placed fourth over the 10,000 metres. She is a two-time world champion after winning the 5,000 m in 2017 and again in 2019, when she set a new championship record. Obiri also took world bronze for the 1,500 metres in 2013 and silver in the 10,000 m in 2022. She won the 3,000 metres race at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, claimed silver in 2014, and placed fourth in 2018. She is the 2019 World Cross Country champion. Obiri triumphed in the 2023 Boston Marathon, her second marathon race. She places fifth in the half marathon on the world all-time list.
Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Kipyegon is the current world record holder for the 1,500 metres and mile, and the former world record holder for the 5,000 metres. Kipyegon is the only three-time Olympic champion in the 1500 metres race, having won a gold medal each at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also won a gold medal in the 1,500 m at the 2017, 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships and in the 5,000 m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kipyegon became the first athlete ever to win three consecutive gold medals in the 1500m women's race, where she also set a new Olympic record. Kipyegon had earlier on in the 2024 Paris Olympics also earned a silver medal in the women's 5000m race, an event marked by controversy. Initially disqualified for obstruction, Kipyegon's second-place finish was later reinstated. Beatrice Chebet edged her out to win the gold.
The 10,000 metres at the Summer Olympics is the longest track running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's 10,000 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912. The women's event was added to the programme over seventy years later, at the 1988 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 10,000 m race at elite level. The competition format is a straight final between around 30 athletes, although prior to 2004 a qualifying round was held.
Sifan Hassan is a Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world-leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second of three women to complete an Olympic distance double. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Hassan secured a bronze medal in both the women's 5,000 m and 10,000 m events and gold in the women's marathon, becoming the only woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres and Marathon races.
The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first modern Olympics in 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the programme at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Emily Sisson is an American long-distance runner. She set the North American record in the marathon on October 9, 2022, when she ran 2:18:29 to finish second at the Chicago Marathon. Sisson also held the American record in the half marathon from May 2022 until July 2023. She represented the United States in the 10000 metres at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships, finishing 9th and 10th. In June 2021, she won the 10000m at the 2020 US Olympic Trials and placed 10th in the 10000m final at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2024, she placed second in the marathon at the US Olympic Trials, qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics. She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics Women's marathon on 11 August 2024, where she finished 23rd.
Tigst Assefa Tessema is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and the world record holder in the women's marathon. She has won two top-tier World Marathon Majors, both in Berlin. A former 800 meters specialist, Tigst switched to road races in 2018 and ran her first marathon in 2022.
Letesenbet Gidey is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. In the 10,000 metres, she is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, 2019 World silver medallist, and 2022 World champion. Her record of 29.01.03 is the second fastest time ever, just recently broken by Kenyan rival Beatrice Chebet. Letesenbet is the first athlete ever, male or female, to hold the 5000m, 10000m, and half marathon world records, simultaneously.
The women's 1500 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 2 to 6 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 45 athletes from 25 nations competed. Kenya's Faith Kipyegon successfully defended her Olympic title, to become one of only two women, along with Tatyana Kazankina, to win two Olympic 1500 metres titles. Her winning time of 3:53.11, broke Paula Ivan's 33-year-old Olympic record. The silver medal went to Great Britain's Laura Muir and the bronze went to Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.
The women's 5000 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 30 July and 2 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. Approximately 45 athletes competed; the exact number was dependent on how many nations use universality places to enter athletes in addition to the 42 qualifying through time or ranking.
The women's 10,000 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 7 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. 29 athletes competed.
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.
Athletics competitions at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile will be held on October 22, between October 29 and November 4, 2023 at the Athletics Stadium in the Julio Martínez National Stadium Coliseum, with the marathon and walks being held in the Santiago streets.
Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were held between 1 and 11 August 2024, featuring a total of 48 medal events across three distinct sets: track and field, road running, and racewalking. Four venues were used: Pont d'Iéna for race walking, Hôtel de Ville and Les Invalides for the start and end points of the marathon races, and Stade de France for the track and field events.
This article details the qualifying phase for athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics. More than 1,800 athletes, with an equal split between men and women, will compete across forty-eight medal events at the Games. The qualification window for the marathon races will occur from 1 November 2022 to 30 April 2024; for the 10,000 metres, combined events, racewalks, and relays from 31 December 2022 to 30 June 2024; and for the remaining events on the program lineup from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.
The 2023 London Marathon was the 43rd running of the annual London Marathon on 23 April 2023. It was the first time since 2019 that the event was run in the spring, as the previous three races were run in autumn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The women's 1500 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, between 6 and 10 August 2024. This was the fourteenth time the women's 1500 metres was contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 45 athletes were able to participate after qualifying by entry standard or their World Athletics Ranking.
The women's 5000 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in two rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, on 2 and 5 August 2024. This was the eighth time that the women's 5000 metres is contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 43 athletes were to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.
The women's 10,000 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held at the Stade de France in Paris, France, on 9 August 2024. This was the tenth time that the women's 10,000 metres was contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 27 athletes were able to qualify for the event by entry standard or ranking.
The men's marathon at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in Paris, France, on 10 August 2024. This was the 30th time that the men's marathon was contested at the Summer Olympics.
