Tegla Chepkite Loroupe is a Kenyan long-distance track and road runner. She is also a global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights and education. Loroupe holds the world records for 25 and 30 kilometers and previously held the world marathon record. She was the first African woman to hold the marathon World Record, which she held from 19 April 1998 until 30 September 2001. She is the three-time World Half-Marathon champion. Loroupe was also the first woman from Africa to win the New York City Marathon, which she has won twice. She has won marathons in London, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Berlin and Rome.
Desiree "Des" Nicole Linden is an American long-distance runner. She represented the United States in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics women's marathon. In 2018, she won the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American in 33 years to win the woman's category in the event. She holds the women's 50K world record of 2:59:54.
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.
Jemima Jelagat Sumgong is a Kenyan long-distance runner specialising in marathon races.
Claudette Mukasakindi is a Rwandan long-distance runner. She competed in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, placing 101st with a time of 2:51:07. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she finished 11th in the women's 10000 m.
Stephen Kiprotich is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is an Olympic marathon champion, having won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Kiprotich also won a gold at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. After Gezahegne Abera, he is the second person to follow an Olympic marathon title with a world championship gold medal for the same event.
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.
Almaz Ayana Eba is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze for the 5000 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Almaz is a four-time World Athletics Championships medallist earning a bronze for the 5000m in 2013, gold at the event in 2015 as well as gold in the 10,000m and silver for the 5000m in 2017.
The men's marathon at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro took place on the Sambódromo on 21 August, the final day of the Games. One hundred fifty-five athletes from 79 nations competed. The event was won by Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, the nation's second victory in the event in three Games. Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia took silver, while Galen Rupp of the United States took bronze. The defending champion going into the marathon was Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich.
The women's marathon event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on 14 August on the Sambadrome.
Uganda competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in 1956, Ugandan athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal because of its partial support of the African boycott.
Djibouti competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. The nation's participation marked its eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics. Djibouti did not field any athletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
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.
Juliet Chekwel is a Ugandan long-distance runner. She competed in the 10,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing placing 17th in a new national record of 32:20.95. She competed in the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
South Sudan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. South Sudan had been an independent nation since 2011, but its civil war had delayed its membership with the International Olympic Committee until 2015, making 2016 its first official appearance at the Olympic Games. The country was offered three universality placements in athletics, as no South Sudanese athletes met the Olympic qualifying standards prior to the Games. Three athletes, two men and one woman, competed in three track and field events, but did not win any medals. The sole woman, Margret Rumat Hassan, was given a spot eight days prior to the start of the Games that had been allotted previously to Mangar Makur Chuot. This change was against the advice of the South Sudan Athletics Federation and was due allegedly to pressure from Samsung, for whom Hassan had appeared in an advertisement. The flagbearer for both the opening and closing ceremony was Guor Marial, a marathon runner who, then unable to represent South Sudan, had competed as an Independent Olympic Athlete in 2012. Five South Sudanese nationals also competed as members of the Refugee Olympic Team.
Lonah Korlima Chemtai Salpeter is a Kenyan-Israeli runner. She won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. At the European Athletics Championships, Chemtai took victory in the 10,000 metres in 2018 and earned bronze in 2022. She won the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, finished second at the 2022 New York City Marathon and third at the 2023 Boston Marathon.
Jacob Kiplimo is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the world record holder for the half marathon, which he set on 21 November 2021 in Lisbon with a time of 57:31. He is also the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 10,000 metres bronze medallist and won bronze in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Kiplimo earned gold medals for the 5000 metres and 10,000 m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He is the 2020 World Half Marathon champion. He won silver and gold medal at the 2019 and 2023 World Cross Country Championships respectively.
Stella Chesang is a Ugandan long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Halimah Nakaayi is a Ugandan middle-distance runner who specialises in the 800 metres. She is the 2019 World Champion at the event and won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. Nakaayi is the current Ugandan record holder for the 800 m both outdoors and indoors, and also for the 1000 metres.
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.
