The men's marathon event was part of the
track and field athletics programme at the
1924 Summer Olympics. The
marathon was held on Sunday, July 13, 1924.
It was only the second Olympic marathon to use the distance of 42.195 km (26 miles, 385 yards) which was first used in 1908 and is now the standard marathon distance. Fifty-eight runners from 20 nations competed, with no more than 6 runners per nation. The event was won by
Albin Stenroos
Oskar Albinus "Albin" Stenroos (24 February 1889 – 30 April 1971) was a Finnish runner, who won the marathon at the 1924 Olympics.
Stenroos ran his first marathon in 1909, placing third at the national championships, but then moved to shorte ...
of Finland, the nation's second consecutive Olympic marathon victory.
Background
This was the seventh appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The Finnish team included defending champion
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 ...
as well as
Albin Stenroos
Oskar Albinus "Albin" Stenroos (24 February 1889 – 30 April 1971) was a Finnish runner, who won the marathon at the 1924 Olympics.
Stenroos ran his first marathon in 1909, placing third at the national championships, but then moved to shorte ...
, who had won two medals in other events in 1912;
Ville Kyrönen had been the winner in the Finnish Olympic trials, however. 1920 silver medalist
Jüri Lossmann
Jüri Lossmann ( – 1 May 1984) was an Estonian Long-distance running, 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 thi ...
of Estonia also returned.
Boughera El Ouafi of France, who would win gold in 1928, competed for the first time. The American team had
Clarence DeMar, the Boston Marathon winner in 1911, 1922, 1923, and 1924,
Charles Mellor, who had run the Olympic marathon in 1920 and would win the Boston marathon in 1925, and Frank Zuna, the 1921 Boston winner. Great Britain had
Dunky Wright.
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 (as he had in 1920 as well).
Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, and Spain each made their first appearance in Olympic marathons. The United States made its seventh appearance, the only nation to have competed in each Olympic marathon to that point.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:
[Olympic.org]
/ref>
Schedule
The race was delayed due to concerns about heat.[
]
Results
The race was held on Sunday, July 13, 1924.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1924 Summer Olympics - Men's Marathon
Men's marathon
Marathons at the Olympics
Men's marathons