Bundesarchiv Bild 183-W0801-0120, Moskau, XXII

The men's marathon at the 1980 Summer Olympics in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

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had an entry list of 76 competitors, with 74 athletes from 40 nations starting and 53 runners finishing the race held on Friday 1 August 1980. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany, the second man to successfully defend Olympic gold in the marathon (after

Abebe Bikila ''Shambel'' Abebe Bikila ( am, ሻምበል አበበ ቢቂላ; August 7, 1932 – October 25, 1973) was an Ethiopian marathon runner who was a back-to-back Olympic marathon champion. He is the first Ethiopian Olympic gold medalist, winnin ...

in 1960 and 1964). Both the Netherlands ( Gerard Nijboer's silver) and the Soviet Union ( Satymkul Dzhumanazarov's bronze) won their first men's Olympic marathon medals.

Background

This was the 19th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning runners from the 1976 marathon included defending champion Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany, bronze medalist (and 1972 silver medalist)

Karel Lismont Karel Lismont (; born 8 March 1949) is a former Belgian long-distance runner. He competed at the 1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984 Olympics in the marathon and 10,000 m events. He won two marathon medals: a silver in 1972 and a bronze in 1976, finishing ...

of Belgium, fifth-place finisher (and two-time doubler in the 5000 metres and 10000 metres) Lasse Virén of Finland, seventh-place finisher

Leonid Moseyev Leonid Nikolaevich Moseyev (russian: Леонид Николаевич Мосеев; born October 21, 1952, in Metlyno, Chelyabinsk Oblast) is a retired male long-distance runner from the Soviet Union. Moseyev won the gold medal in the men's m ...

of the Soviet Union, and tenth-place finisher Henri Schoofs of Belgium. The two strongest challengers against a Cierpinski repeat were Bill Rodgers of the United States (1975 and 1978–80 Boston winner, 1976–79 New York winner, 1977 Fukuoka winner, and 1976 Olympian) and

Toshihiko Seko is a Japanese former long-distance runner. He was a world-class marathon competitor in the 1980s. He represented his native country at the 1984 and the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Seko's notable marathon wins include Fukuoka Mar ...

of Japan (1979–1980 Fukuoka winner). Both men, however, were kept out of the games due to the American-led boycott. Algeria, the Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, the Seychelles, and Zimbabwe each made their first appearance in Olympic men's marathons. Great Britain made its 17th appearance, most of any nation competing but one behind the boycotting United States.

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 "very flat" out-and-back route along the Moskva river.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics. No new world or Olympic bests were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are

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Results

References