The men's
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
at the
2015 World Championships in Athletics
The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...
was held at the
Beijing National Stadium
The National Stadium (), also known as the Bird's Nest (), is an 80,000-capacity stadium in Beijing. The stadium was jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from Basel-based architecture team Herzog & de Meuron, p ...
on 22 August.
The name Gebrselassie is familiar in running circles, but this race was won by Haile's sound alike
Ghirmay Ghebreslassie
Ghirmay Ghebreslassie ( Ge'ez: ግርማይ ገብረስላሰ, born 14 November 1995) is an Eritrean long distance runner. He won the 2015 World Championships in Athletics marathon in Beijing, China, becoming the youngest winner of the race at ...
from a different country, neighboring Eritrea. Not only was he the youngest winner of a World Championship marathon, he was the first gold medalist for his country ever.
The early leader was
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir, then
Daniele Meucci
Daniele Meucci (born 7 October 1985) is an Italian athlete who specialises in long-distance running, including track running, cross country and road running who won twenty medals at international level (seventeen at senior level and three at y ...
and
Ruggero Pertile
Ruggero Pertile (born 8 August 1974 in Camposampiero) is an Italian long-distance runner who specialises in marathon running. He was the winner of the 2004 Rome City Marathon and has represented Italy internationally at three World Championsh ...
getting camera time to the half way mark while the favorites including defending champion
Stephen Kiprotich
Stephen Kiprotich ("KIP-roh-tich", born 27 February 1989) 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 ...
stayed slightly off the pace. Ghebreslassie marked the more experienced runners.
Tsepo Ramonene made a breakaway at 25 km opening up a 30-second lead. As he watched two Kenyans drop out and other favorites struggle, Ghebreslassie decided to set loose at 34 km. Over the next couple of kilometers, he made up the gap and passed Ramonene with authority. But a couple of kilometers later
Yemane Tsegay
Yemane Adhane Tsegay (born 8 April 1985) is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He won the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon with a personal best time of 2:04:48 hours. He has also won marathons in Eindhoven, Gyeongju, ...
passed Ghebreslassie. Tsegay's lead only lasted two minutes until Ghebreslassie took the lead for good. Over the final kilometers, he extended his lead to 40 seconds. Running relaxed and fast like an exuberant teenager, he was handed an Eritrean flag as he entered the stadium.
He held his flag but kept on running past the finish line until officials were able to tell him he was done. “I’ve never finished in a stadium before.” Behind him, in comparison, Tsegay,
Solomon Mutai and the other runners finished looking as if they had just finished a marathon.
Records
Prior to the competition, the records were as follows:
Qualification standards
Schedule
Results
The race was started at 07:35.
Final results
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2015 World Championships in Athletics - Men's marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
Marathons at the World Athletics Championships
Marathons in China
Men's marathons