Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase is a retired Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics made him the first ever Eritrean Olympic medallist, and his 20-km title at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships also made him the country's first athlete to win at a world championship event. He does not use a sprint finish to win races; his strategy relies on a combination of efficient running and fast pace setting.
Simon Christopher Lessing, MBE, is a British triathlete who won five International Triathlon Union (ITU) world titles. He also won races at 70.3, ITU long distance and Ironman-distance events. He set an Olympic-distance world record in 1996, and is noted for his 2004 Ironman Lake Placid win, where he set a course record of 8:23:12. In 2008 he retired from professional racing. Simon resides in Boulder, Colorado, United States, where he operates Boulder Coaching with Darren de Reuck.
Lesotho sent a delegation to compete in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany from 26 August to 11 September 1972. This was the African country's first time participating at the Olympic Games. Lesotho's delegation consisted of a single sprinter, Motsapi Moorosi. He competed in two events, being eliminated in the first round of the 100 meters, and advancing to the quarter-finals of the 200 meters.
Djibouti took part in the 1996 Summer Olympics, which were held in Atlanta, United States from 19 July to 4 August. The country's participation marked its fourth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, United States. The delegation from Djibouti included five athletes, three in athletics and two in sailing. The three athletes for athletics were Ali Ibrahim, Omar Moussa, and Hussein Ahmed Salah while Robleh Ali Adou and Mohamed Youssef represented the country for sailing.
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.
Kenneth Cheruiyot is an athlete from Kenya who specialises in long-distance running. He is most famous for winning the Rotterdam Marathon in 2000. He finished second in the event in 2001 and 2002. In 2002 he fell to ground and broke his arm after 10 kilometers of running, but still managed to finish and even grab silver.
Djibouti has participated in nine Summer Olympic Games as of the completion of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. They have never competed in the Winter Olympic Games. Djibouti debuted at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States of America with three athletes, but did not take home a medal. The highest number of Djiboutian athletes participating in a summer Games is eight in the 1992 games in Barcelona, Spain. Only one Djiboutian athlete has ever won a medal at the Olympics, marathon runner Hussein Ahmed Salah, who won a bronze medal in the 1988 marathon.
Burundi participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China from 8 to 24 August 2008. It was Burundi's fourth appearance in the summer Olympics since its debut in 1996. The Burundi team included three athletes: runners Joachim Nshimirimana and Francine Niyonizigiye, as well as swimmer Elsie Uwamahoro. Niyonizigiye, a marathon runner, was flag bearer for the opening ceremony. None of the Burundi athletes progressed further than the qualifying round.
The men's marathon 10 kilometre event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 21 August at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China.
Merrill M. Moses is a United States Olympic silver medalist, three-time Olympian, and three-time Pan American Games gold medalist water polo goalkeeper. He played college water polo for Pepperdine University, where he was an All-American and helped lead the team to the 1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. Moses is now associate head coach in water polo at Pepperdine.
The men's marathon at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, USSR had an entry list of 76 competitors, with 74 athletes from 40 nations starting and 53 runners finishing the race held on Friday 1 August 1980. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany, the second man to successfully defend Olympic gold in the marathon. Both the Netherlands and the Soviet Union won their first men's Olympic marathon medals.
Uganda competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The country's participation there marked its 13th appearance in the Summer Olympics since its début at the 1956 Summer Olympics. The delegation consisted of eleven track and field athletes that included Moses Ndiema Kipsiro, Benjamin Kiplagat, and Stephen Kiprotich, one each in badminton and weightlifting, and two swimmers. Ekiring, Ssekyaaya, Mugula, and Lunkuse had qualified through wildcard places, while the rest of the delegation satisfied the Games' qualification standards for their respective events. Mugula was selected as the team captain. Mugula was also selected as the flag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies. The country's best result at these Games was a gold medal for Kiproitch in the men's marathon, its first such medal since the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Lesotho competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The country's participation at London marked its tenth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its début at the 1972 Summer Olympics. The delegation included three track and field athletes; Tsepo Ramonene, Mosito Lehata and Mamorallo Tjoka, and one swimmer; Masempe Theko. Ramonene and Lehata qualified for the Games by meeting qualification standards, while Tjoka and Theko made the Olympics through wildcard places. Tjoka was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony while Lehata held it at the closing ceremony. Ramonene finished last in the men's marathon and was revived by medical personnel during the event. Lehata did not progress to the semi-finals of the men's 200 metres and Tjoka finished in 90th in the women's marathon. Theko finished 73rd overall in the women's 50 metre freestyle and did not progress to the semi-finals of the event.
East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste and officially as the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, held from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's fourth appearance at the Olympics, although it was first appeared as part of the Individual Olympic Athletes. Two marathon runners were selected to the team by wildcard places, without having qualified at any sporting event. East Timor, however, has yet to win its first Olympic medal.
Tsepo Ramonene Mathibelle is a long-distance runner from Lesotho.
Joachim Nshimirimana is a Burundian athlete who specialized in marathon and long-distance running. He represented Burundi at two Olympic games and also holds Italian citizenship.
Allan Lopes Mamédio do Carmo is a Brazilian swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon. He is considered one of the fastest professional open water swimmers in the world, finishing near the top of FINA World Cup races for the 10 km marathon. He also won a bronze medal for his category at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Clement Mabothile Lebopo is a Lesotho marathon runner. At age thirty-three, Lebopo made his official debut for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed in the men's marathon, along with his compatriots Tsotang Maine and Moses Mosuhli. He did not finish the entire race, before reaching the 10 km lap of the course.
Smartex Godfrey Tambala is a Malawian former long-distance runner.
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.
Lesotho 
