The men's marathon 10 kilometre event at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held on 9 August 2024 in the River Seine, Paris. It was the fifth appearance of the event, having first been held in 2008. France spent €1.2–1.6 billion to clean up the Seine in preparation for the Olympic events, but heavy rainfall caused bacteria levels to increase and one of the pre-event training sessions was cancelled. Nonetheless, another training session went ahead and the race started as scheduled.
The race consisted of six 1.67 kilometer loops between Pont Alexandre III and Pont de l’Alma. When travelling from Pont Alexandre III to Pont de l’Alma, the athletes were swimming downstream, but on the way back they were swimming upstream.
Germany's defending Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock and Hungary's defending Olympic silver medallist Kristóf Rasovszky led for most of the start of the race, but going into the final lap, Wellbrock swam wide around the bend, which relegated him from second to seventh. He was unable to swim himself back into a podium position for the rest of the race. Rasovszky and Germany's Oliver Klemet were in first and second position going into the final straight, and they raced in a sprint finish. Rasovszky won with a time of 1:50:52.7, while Klemet finished second with 1:50:54.8. Hungary's Dávid Betlehem and Italy's Domenico Acerenza also raced in a sprint finish for third, and Betlehem won it to finish with 1:51:09.0 for third, while Acerenza finished with 1:51:09.6 for fourth.
Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) was permitted to enter a maximum of two qualified athletes in the event. World Aquatics provided a qualification pathway to fulfil their quota of at least 22 competing athletes. Athletes were selected in the following order:[1]
One representative from each World Aquatics continent (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania)[a]
One representative from the host nation (France) if not qualified by other means[b]
In addition to the athletes invited to fulfil the quota, any athletes who achieved the Olympic Qualification Time in either the 800 or 1500 metres freestyle were invited to compete.[1]
David Johnston of the USA withdrew from the event after suffering from COVID-19 during the pool events that happened earlier in the week,[4][5] and Sweden's Victor Johansson also withdrew due to his doctor's recommendation.[6]
Water quality issues
France spent €1.2–1.6 billion to clean up the Seine for the Olympic triathlons and open water swimming events,[c] but heavy rain in the lead-up to the Olympics caused bacteria levels to increase.[11][12] Earlier in the Olympics, two consecutive training sessions for the triathlons were cancelled,[13] and after the triathlon events took place a few of the competitors reported infections caused by E. coli—a bacteria that was being monitored in the Seine.[14][11] The Paris 2024 organisers later released a statement saying "Paris 2024 wishes to remind everyone that the health and wellbeing of athletes is our top priority".[14]
A session in the river was scheduled to take place on August 6, when the athletes would practice and acclimatize to the river's conditions. However, it was cancelled hours beforehand due to high enterococci levels.[15] A day after, on August 7, the acclimatization session went ahead,[14] and on August 9 the race took place.[12]
Race
The race consisted of six 1.67 kilometer loops between Pont Alexandre III and Pont de l’Alma. At the end of every loop, at Pont Alexandre III, there was a feeding station. When travelling from Pont Alexandre III to Pont de l’Alma, the athletes were swimming downstream, but on the way back they were swimming upstream.[16] After the race, Ireland's Daniel Wiffen stated that he had to swim at a pace faster than approximately 1:12 per 100 metres to be able to swim forward against he current.[17]
Hungary's Kristóf Rasovszky took first place off the start, but Wellbrock overtook two thirds into the downstream leg of the first lap and maintained his lead until the feeding station at the end of the first lap. Rasovszky once again led for the downstream portion of the second lap, and he maintained his lead until the end of lap three. Wellbrock took the lead again into lap four, but Rasovszky once again overtook him during the upstream portion.[18]
During the final feeding station, going into the final lap, Wellbrock swam wide around the bend, which relegated him from second to seventh. He was unable to swim himself back into a podium position for the rest of the race. Going into the sixth and final lap, Rasovszky was first, followed by Germany's Oliver Klemet. Rasovszky and Klemet broke away from the rest of the swimmers until the final upstream portion, when they were briefly caught by the chasing pack led by Hungary's Dávid Betlehem and Italy's Domenico Acerenza.[18] Rasovszky and Klemet sprinted in what Reuters called a "gruelling slog" to the finish,[19] and Rasovszky beat Klemet by 2.1 seconds to finish first with a time of 1:50:52.7; Klemet finished second with 1:50:54.8.[20] Betlehem beat Acerenza by 0.6 seconds for third, finishing in 1:51:09.0; Acerenza finished in 1:51:09.6 for fourth.[18]
After the race, Rasovszky said that he felt like his training with Betlehem in the Danube River in Hungary gave them an advantage. Rasovszky, Betlehem and Wiffen all expressed a lack of concern for the water quality issues after the race.[3]
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