Djibouti took part in the 1984 Summer Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles, United States from July 28 to August 12. The 1984 Summer Olympics were Djibouti's first Olympic appearance. The delegation included three marathon athletes, Djama Robleh, Ahmed Salah, and Omar Abdillahi Charmarke, none of whom won a medal.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized in the 5000 metres. Regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion, and was the world record holder in the marathon from 2018 to 2023, with a time of 2:01:09 set at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, until that record was broken by Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:00:35. He has run four of the 10 fastest marathons in history.
Brazil first participated at the Olympic Games in 1920, after missing the previous five Summer editions. The country has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the 1928 Games. As of 2024, Brazilian athletes have won a total of 162 medals in 18 different Summer sports.
Colombia first formally participated at the Olympic Games in 1932, and has sent athletes to compete in all but one edition of the Summer Olympic Games since then, missing only the 1952 Games. Colombian athletes have won a total of 34 Olympic medals in eight different sports, with weightlifting and cycling as the most successful ones. Colombia is the third most successful South American country at the Olympic Games, after Brazil and Argentina respectively. The Colombian Olympic Committee was created in 1936 and recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1948.
Oleksandr Vasyliovych Sitkovskyi is a Ukrainian long-distance runner.
The swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 13 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. The women's open-water marathon was held on August 15, and the men's open water race on August 16 in Fort Copacabana.
Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the Games. They were due to be held from 31 July – 9 August 2020, at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to 2021, with the track and field events set for 30 July – 8 August. The sport of athletics at these Games was split into three distinct sets of events: track and field events, remaining in Tokyo, and road running events and racewalking events, moved to Sapporo. A total of 48 events were held, one more than in 2016, with the addition of a mixed relay event.
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.
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.
Alphonce Felix Simbu is a Tanzanian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He competed in the marathon event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China. He finished 12th with a time of 2:16:58.
Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the current world record holder for the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres, and holds the world best time over the 15 kilometres distance. Cheptegei is the former world best holder for the 5 kilometres road run, becoming the first person ever to run that distance in under 13 minutes (12:51) in 2020.
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.
Nicolae Alexandru Soare is a Romanian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He competed in the men's marathon event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He won silver medals in the 10,000 metres at the 2015 and 2017 Universiades. In 2020, he competed in the men's race at the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships held in Gdynia, Poland.
Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez is a Cuban sprint canoeist. He took up canoeing in late 2015 and won the 2016 Pan American Championships with Serguey Torres in the C-2 1000 m event. They finished sixth at the 2016 Olympics. He also competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and won a gold medal in the Men's C-2 1000 metres event.
Yassine Rachik is a Moroccan-born Italian long-distance runner who won the Italian Athletics Championships three times and also won an individual bronze medal at the 2018 European Athletics Championships.
The men's marathon 10 kilometre event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 5 August 2021 at the Odaiba Marine Park. It was the fourth appearance of the event, having first been held in 2008.
Lemawork Ketema is an Austrian long-distance runner. In 2019, he competed in the men's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar. He finished in 41st place.
Aaron Pike is an American athlete who competes in wheelchair racing, biathlon, and cross-country skiing. He has competed at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics, as well as the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Winter Paralympics. Pike finished second at the 2022 Boston Marathon, third at the 2021 and 2022 Chicago Marathons, and fourth at the 2018 and 2019 New York City Marathons as well as the 2021 Boston Marathon. He won multiple medals at the 2023 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships, including winning the 12.5 km seated event.
