The men's marathon event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

. The distance of this race was 42.75 kilometres. The competition was held on Sunday, 22 August 1920. 48 runners from 17 nations competed. No nation had more than 4 runners, suggesting the limit had been reduced from the 12 maximum in force in 1908 and 1912. The event was won by

Hannes Kolehmainen Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen (; 9 December 1889 – 11 January 1966) was a Finnish four-time Olympic Gold medalist and a world record holder in middle- and long-distance running. He was the first in a generation of great Finnish long-dista ...

of Finland, the nation's first Olympic marathon medal and victory; Kolehmainen received his fourth gold medal, having won the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres, and individual cross country in 1912. Estonia (

Jüri Lossmann Jüri Lossmann ( – 1 May 1984) was an Estonian long distance runner. He finished second in the marathon at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, at 2:32:48.6, trailing Hannes Kolehmainen by 13 seconds, but beating the third-placed Valerio Ar ...

's silver) and Italy (

Valerio Arri Valeriano Pompeo Maurizio "Valerio" Arri (22 June 1892 – 2 July 1970) was an Italian marathon runner. He won a bronze medal at the 1920 Olympics in his all-time personal best time of 2:36:33. Biography Arri started competing in early 1910s, b ...

's bronze) also won their first marathon medals.

Background

This was the sixth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The field included significant competitors, including the original

Flying Finn "The Flying Finn" ( fi, Lentävä suomalainen, sv, Flygande finländaren) is a nickname given to several Finnish athletes who were noted for their speed. Originally, it was given to several Finnish middle and long-distance runners. The term was ...

(who had not run the marathon in 1912, but took gold in three other distance events) and his brother

Tatu Kolehmainen Tatu Kolehmainen (21 April 1885 – 15 June 1967) was a Finnish long-distance runner who competed at the 1912 and 1920 Summer Olympics. In 1912 he reached the finals of 10,000 m and marathon races, but failed to finish due to a strong he ...

(who had competed in the 1912 marathon); South Africa's Christian Gitsham (silver medal in the 1912 marathon); and American Boston Marathon winners Arthur Roth (1916) and Carl Linder (1919), as well as future winner Charles Mellor (1925).

Shizo Kanakuri was a Japanese marathon runner and one of the early leaders of track and field athletics in Japan. He has been celebrated as the "father of marathon" in Japan. Biography Kanakuri was a native of Tamana, Kumamoto, Japan and attended the Tokyo H ...

of Japan, still considered a missing person in Sweden after disappearing during the 1912 Olympic marathon, competed. Chile, Estonia, and India each made their first appearance in Olympic marathons. The United States made its sixth appearance, the only nation to have competed in each Olympic marathon to that point.

Competition format

As all marathons, the competition was a single race. The course for the race was listed as 42.75 kilometres long, making it the longest Olympic marathon ever. However, the

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

estimated the course to be only 40 km, which would make it among the shorter courses in the pre-standardized era. The course included 1.5 laps of the stadium at both the start and finish.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in hours) prior to the 1920 Summer Olympics. ''(*)'' Distance was 40.2 kilometres

is recognized as having set a new

world best A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

with a time of 2:32:35.8 hours.

Schedule

The weather during the race has been described as "cool". An

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

report described the weather as "cold and showery", but "fine running weather for the marathoners".

Results

References

;Specific ;General * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1920 Summer Olympics - 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 Olympics Men's marathons