Rosa Maria Correia dos Santos Mota, GCIH, GCM is a Portuguese former marathon runner, one of her country's foremost athletes, being the first sportswoman from Portugal to win Olympic gold. Mota was the first woman to win multiple Olympic marathon medals as well as being the only woman to be the reigning European, World, and Olympic champion at the same time. On the 30th Anniversary Gala of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) she was distinguished as the greatest female marathon runner of all time.
The Saint Silvester Road Race is a long-distance running event, the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil.
Domingos Silva Castro is a former long-distance runner from Portugal, who was one of the leading athletes in the longer events during the late 1980s, early 1990s. He won the silver medal in the 5,000 metres at the 1987 World Championships. As a marathoner, he won the 1995 edition of the Paris Marathon, clocking 2:10:06, and the Rotterdam Marathon of 1997, in his personal best of 2:07:51. He won the Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños four times in his career – more than any other athlete. He also came in 2nd place overall in the 1999 New York City Marathon.
The men's marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, was held on Sunday August 12, 1984. The race started at 5:00 pm local time. There were 107 competitors from 59 countries. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. A total number of 78 athletes completed the race.
Dunky Wright was a Scottish athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1924 Summer Olympics, in the 1928 Summer Olympics, and in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was born and died in Glasgow.
Heinz Frei is a Swiss wheelchair athlete. Frei has had a long career of racing, winning the London Marathon wheelchair race three times, and earning five medals at the 2003 European games at the age of 45. He has earned 15 gold medals at the summer and winter Paralympics and is a current world record holder in the marathon wheelchair race. He competed in athletics at every Summer Paralympic Games from 1984 to 2008, and at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics he competed in cycling, using a handcycle. At the Winter Paralympics, he competed in cross-country sit-skiing between 1984 and 2006 and in the biathlon in 1994.
The marathon at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held on 27 July on a course running from the Helsinki Olympic Stadium to Korso, Helsinki Rural Municipality and back. Sixty-six athletes from 32 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
Andrea Cionna is an Italian athlete from Osimo in the Province of Ancona. He holds the world record for the fastest marathon run by a totally blind man, set in 2:31:59 in Rome in 2007, and has won two bronze medals in blind long-distance running at the Paralympic Games.
Priscah Jeptoo is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She has won marathons in New York, Paris, Turin, and London and has a best time of 2:20:14 for the distance. She was the runner-up in the marathon at both the World Championships in Athletics in 2011 and the 2012 London Olympics. She ranks third all-time over the half marathon distance with her best of 66 minutes and 11 seconds.
Portugal competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, held in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The nation celebrated its centennial anniversary participating in the Olympics, having participated at every Summer edition since 1912. The Olympic Committee of Portugal sent a total of 77 athletes to the Games, 45 men and 32 women, to compete in 13 sports. Despite having the same number of athletes as in Beijing, Portugal did not qualify any athletes in archery, fencing and taekwondo.
Madison de Rozario, is an Australian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair racer who specialises in middle and long-distance events. She competed at the 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics, winning two gold medals, three silver and a bronze. She has also won ten medals at the World Para Athletics Championships and four gold at the Commonwealth Games. De Rozario holds the world record in the Women's 800m T53 and formerly in the Women's 1500m T53/54.
The Porto Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running event held in Porto, Portugal which follows the River Douro. Known as the Hyundai Porto Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons, the inaugural edition was held in 2007 and it typically takes place every mid-September.
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.
Gladys Cherono Kiprono is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and road running events. She became the first woman to win both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres at the African Championships in 2012. She is a three-time winner of the Berlin Marathon and the 8th fastest women marathoner of all time.
Samuel Menegon de Bona is a Brazilian swimmer, who specialized in the open water marathon. He trained at Grêmio Náutico União, in Porto Alegre.
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.
Namibia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Namibia competed at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, from 27 September to 6 October 2019. The country's participation there marked its fifteenth appearance in the World Championships since its debut at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics. Namibia sent two athletes to the Championships, both of whom competed in the marathon events. Helalia Johannes became Namibia's first female medallist, and their first medallist in 26 years, when she won a bronze medal in the women's marathon. Tomas Hilifa Rainhold finished in 17th in the men's marathon.
Simone Ponte Ferraz is a Brazilian athlete specialising in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She has won two medals at the South American Championships. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Vanessa Cristina de Souza is a Brazilian wheelchair racer, who came fourth at the 2021 Boston and Chicago Marathons. She competed in multiple events at the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Zablon Chumba 
