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. One hundred and five athletes from 67 nations competed. The event was won by

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 ...

of Uganda, the nation's first Olympic men's marathon victory and the nation's only medal in 2012. Kenya earned its fourth and fifth medals in five Games, with Abel Kirui's silver and

Wilson Kipsang Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich (born 15 March 1982) is a Kenyan professional athlete who specialises in long-distance running, competing in events ranging from 10 km to the marathon. He was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2012 Summer O ...

's bronze. 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.

Summary

from

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

won the gold medal — the country's only medal at the 2012 Games. Abel Kirui and

, both from

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, took silver and bronze respectively. Twenty athletes did not finish the race, which took place on a warm and sunny day. The race started off slowly. In the first , Brazilian runner Franck Caldeira broke away on two 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 , Kipsang Kiprotich opened up a gap of about 15 seconds, which lasted for the next 10 miles but never increased significantly. The chase group shrunk to Abel Kirui and

, with

Ayele Abshero Ayele Abshero Biza ( am, አየለ አብሽሮ ቢዛ, born 28 December 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who mainly competes in cross country and road races. He came to prominence with a junior silver medal at the 2008 IAAF Worl ...

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 marker, Kiprotich touched his leg as if he were struggling and he fell back a few seconds. At the 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.

Background

This was the 27th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning runners from the 2008 marathon included sixth-place finisher Viktor Röthlin of Switzerland, eighth-place finisher

Yared Asmerom Yared Asmerom Tesfit (born 4 February 1980 in Asmara) is an Eritrean long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon races. He was born in Asmara. Biography In 2005 he finished ninth at the World Half Marathon Championships and 25th at the ...

of Eritrea, and tenth-place finisher Ryan Hall of the United States. The 2004 silver medalist

Meb Keflezighi Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi (; Ge'ez: መብራህቶም ክፍልእዝጊ, ''Mebrāhtōm Kifl'izgī''; born May 5, 1975) is a retired Eritrean-born American long distance runner. He is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and fin ...

of the United States, who had not competed in Beijing, also returned. Abel Kirui of Kenya had won the past two world championships in 2009 and 2011. His countryman Patrick Makau Musyoki had set the world record in 2011, but could not finish the 2012 London Marathon due to injury and was not selected for the Kenyan team.

and

Emmanuel Mutai Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai (born 12 October 1984) is a long distance runner from Kenya, who specialises in marathons. He is now the joint 6th fastest man ever over the 42.195 km distance. Initially running in half marathons, he made his de ...

joined Kirui on the Kenyan team instead; Kipsang was the favorite in the hundred-plus runner field. Iceland made its first appearance in Olympic men's marathons. South Sudan had one runner appear as an Independent Olympic Athlete. The United States made its 26th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Competition format and course

As all Olympic marathons, the competition was a single race. The marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards was run over a course that started and finished on The Mall in central London. Runners completed one short circuit of around part of the City of Westminster and then three longer circuits of around Westminster, the

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. It runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London, and acts as a major thoroughfare ...

and the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. The course was designed to pass many of London's best-known landmarks, including Buckingham Palace,

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

, St Paul's Cathedral, the Bank of England, Leadenhall Market, the Monument, the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

and the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

Records

, the existing world and Olympic records stood as follows. No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Results

References

External links

Full Results at Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics 2012 Olympic Marathon Marathons at the Olympics Summer Olympics Men's marathons Men's events at the 2012 Summer Olympics