Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon
| Men's marathon at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | ||||||||||
 Winner Stephen Kiprotich near the end of the course. | ||||||||||
| Venue | Marathon course, central London | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 12 August | |||||||||
| Competitors | 105 from 67 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 2:08:01 | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Track events | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | women | ||
| 800 m | men | women | ||
| 1500 m | men | women | ||
| 5000 m | men | women | ||
| 10,000 m | men | women | ||
| 100 m hurdles | women | |||
| 110 m hurdles | men | |||
| 400 m hurdles | men | women | ||
| 3000 m steeplechase |
men | women | ||
| 4×100 m relay | men | women | ||
| 4×400 m relay | men | women | ||
| Road events | ||||
| Marathon | men | women | ||
| 20 km walk | men | women | ||
| 50 km walk | men | |||
| Field events | ||||
| Long jump | men | women | ||
| Triple jump | men | women | ||
| High jump | men | women | ||
| Pole vault | men | women | ||
| Shot put | men | women | ||
| Discus throw | men | women | ||
| Javelin throw | men | women | ||
| Hammer throw | men | women | ||
| Combined events | ||||
| Heptathlon | women | |||
| Decathlon | men | |||
The men's marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on the Olympic marathon street course on 12 August, the final day of the Games.[1]
The course started and finished on The Mall in central London. Runners completed one short circuit of 2.219 miles (3.571 km) around part of the City of Westminster and then three longer circuits of 8 miles (13 km) around Westminster, the Victoria Embankment and the City of London. The course was designed to pass many of London's best-known landmarks, including Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St Paul's Cathedral, the Bank of England, Leadenhall Market, the Monument, the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament.[2]
Stephen Kiprotich from Uganda won the gold medal — the country's only medal at the 2012 Games. Abel Kirui and Wilson Kipsang, both from Kenya, took silver and bronze respectively.[3] Twenty athletes did not finish the race, which took place on a warm and sunny day.[4][5]
The race started off slowly. In the first 5 miles (8.0 km), Brazilian runner Franck de Almeida broke away on two separate occasions, only to get swallowed up by the pack. Between 10K and 12K, Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich moved to the front in a more serious breakaway. The large pack broke up into a small chase pack of eight runners, primarily East African. With a fast 7 miles (11 km), Kipsang Kiprotich opened up a gap of about 15 seconds, which lasted for the next 10 miles but never increased significantly.[6] The chase group shrunk to Abel Kirui and Stephen Kiprotich, with Ayele Abshero just behind. While Abshero did not gain contact, the other three formed a lead pack. The two Kenyan teammates ran together, with the Ugandan trailing slightly. By 35K, the group of three had over a minute gap on the next competitor, Marilson dos Santos. At the 22 miles (35 km) marker, Kiprotich touched his leg as if he were struggling and he fell back a few seconds. At the 23 miles (37 km) marker, Kiprotich moved past the two Kenyans. His next mile was 4:42, opening up a 17-second gap on Kirui, with Kipsang falling back. Kiprotich extended his lead by 9 seconds and picked up a Ugandan flag before crossing the finish line.[7]
As is customary, the men's marathon medals were presented as part of the Closing Ceremony, which took place later that day, in the Olympic Stadium - the last medal presentation of the Games.
Schedule
All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 12 August 2012 | 11:00 | Final |
Records
Prior to this event, the existing world and Olympic records stood as follows.
| World record |  Patrick Makau Musyoki (KEN) |
2:03:38 | Berlin, Germany | 25 September 2011 |
| Olympic record | Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) |
2:06:32 | Beijing, China | 24 August 2008 |
| 2012 World leading |  Ayele Abshero (ETH) |
2:04:23 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 27 January 2012 |
According to IAAF statistics, the top ten fastest men's marathon times prior to the 2012 Olympics are as follows:[8][9]
| Time | Athlete | Country | Date | Marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:03:38 | Patrick Makau Musyoki | Kenya |
25 September 2011 | Berlin |
| 2:03:42 | Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich | Kenya |
30 October 2011 | Frankfurt |
| 2:03:59 | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia |
28 September 2008 | Berlin |
| 2:04:23 | Ayele Abshero | Ethiopia |
27 January 2012 | Dubai |
| 2:04:27 | Duncan Kibet | Kenya |
5 April 2009 | Rotterdam |
| 2:04:27 | James Kwambai | Kenya |
5 April 2009 | Rotterdam |
| 2:04:40 | Emmanuel Mutai | Kenya |
17 April 2011 | London |
| 2:04:48 | Yemane Tsegay | Ethiopia |
15 April 2012 | Rotterdam |
| 2:04:50 | Getu Feleke | Ethiopia |
15 April 2012 | Rotterdam |
| 2:04:50 | Dino Sefir | Ethiopia |
27 January 2012 | Dubai |
Result
.svg.png){kind=small}
References
- ↑ Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- ↑ http://www.london2012.com/documents/general/london-2012-marathon-route-map.pdf
- ↑ "Ugandan Kiprotich beats Kenyan duo Kirui and Kipsang to spring marathon surprise". Daily Mail. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Stephen Kiprotich wins gold for Uganda". BBC Sport. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda wins marathon". USA Today. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Stephen Kiprotich becomes Uganda's second ever Olympic gold medallist with historic men's marathon victory". Daily Telegraph. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "Stephen Kiprotich's Olympic marathon win gives Uganda second gold ever". Guardian. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ 0 Toplists mar m – o. iaaf.org. Retrieved on 27 April 2012.
- ↑ http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=0/sex=W/all=y/legal=A/disc=MAR/detail.html iaaf.org. Retrieved on 27 April 2012.