Until trail running makes it into the Olympics (in 2032, Buddha willing), we’re gonna have to talk about the closest thing to it: Olympic marathons. Here’s a little history.
The marathon was first run by a Greek dude in the nude who died at the end. His name was Pheidippides, and his only competitor in that race was the sundial. The year was 490 BC, and Pheidippides was relaying a message from the city of Marathon to Athens regarding a Persian military vessel making its way toward the capital. The Battle of Marathon had been won by the Greeks, but it looked like the Persians were going to raid Athens and stake their claim. Pheidippides ran 42.195 kilometers nonstop to warn of the approaching Persian ambush and then promptly collapsed and died. In the nude. For centuries, historians have debated what his time was, but it’s generally believed he held down a 2:40 min/km pace without the luxury of gels, cheering spectators, or a seven-pacer inverted arrow formation.
These days, everyone has run a marathon, but none as fast as the original fast boy, Pheidippides. That said, there have been some incredible moments in the race's history, most of them occurring at the Olympic Games.
Illustrations: Brian DeRan
Emil Zátopek, Helsinki 1952
Picture it: The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. You’re at the starting line for the marathon. You look to your left, and there’s the Czech homeboy Emil Zátopek, who has already broken records and won Gold medals in both the 5,000 and the 10,000-meter races at this Olympic Games. Now, he’s decided at the last minute to compete in the marathon. You smile to yourself because there’s no way he could win this race as well; plus it’s his first-ever marathon—he doesn’t stand a chance. Plus, plus there’s not a single Kenyan in the lineup because Kenya won’t make their Olympic debut until Melbourne 1956. Ha-ha. You got this, Yoshitaka Uchikawa. That Gold medal is as good as yours.
But then, guess what? Emil Zátopek wins yet again and sets a third world record at that year’s Olympics. He remains the only person to win these three events in the same games. When he returned to defend his title in 1956, ‘The Czech Locomotive’ suffered a ‘groin injury’ that saw him come sixth. Did he make that up to save face because he knew the Kenyans were gonna be there? Probably.
Abebe Bikila, Rome 1960
As it turned out, Emil had nothing to worry about. Africa wouldn’t commence its decades-long gold grabbing campaign until the 1960 Olympics in Rome: Enter Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila...
Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila was born on the 7th of August 1932, which happened to be (get ready for it) THE SAME DAY THEY HELD THE OLYMPIC MARATHON IN LOS ANGELES in 1932. So, you have to ask yourself, is it a coincidence that 28 years later, he would enter and win the 1960 Olympic Marathon? Of course, it’s a coincidence. But is it a coincidence that he was born barefoot and then (wait for it) RAN THE 1960 OLYMPIC MARATHON BAREFOOT?! Not a joke. He really did run the marathon barefoot and won it by 200 meters. Crazy. At that time, no one had ever won the Olympic Marathon twice, but Bikila did just that, returning in 1964 (Tokyo)—with shoes this time—to trounce the competition and win by a little over four minutes.
Joan Benoit, Los Angeles 1984
Fun fact: The first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896, but the modern Olympic Marathon wasn’t open to women until 1984. To help put that in perspective, the antibiotic properties of penicillin were discovered in the year 1896, but by 1984 we had Nintendo, Count Chocula, and Who’s the Boss. Makes you think.
Undeterred by nearly a century of blatant (and, frankly, bizarre) sexism, American long-distance runner Joan Benoit qualified for the ’84 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (just two weeks after undergoing knee surgery, crazily enough) and went on to win the first women’s Olympic marathon. If you only watch one Olympic marathon video today, make it the Women’s of 1984, but be sure to spray yourself with goosebump-guard first. It was a hot and humid day in LA (32°C / 90°F), but Benoit chose to rocket out in front and put as much distance between herself and the pack. The strategy worked, and she crossed the finish line 400 meters ahead of the second placer, Norway’s Grete Waitz.
An incredible achievement by Benoit, but most people agree she shares the day with Swiss long distance runner Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss, who defined Olympic spirit when she literally staggered across the finish line placing 37th. All in all, the first Women’s Olympic Marathon was awe-inspiring.
Samuel Kamau Wanjiru, Beijing 2008
This dude. Wow. The legendary Samuel Kamau Wanjiru was the first Kenyan to win Olympic marathon gold, and he did it in world record time: 2:06:32. The previous Olympic marathon record was set by Portugal’s Carlos Lopes in 1984; he hit the ribbon at 2:09:21. Now, that’s obviously incredible, but Wanjiru shaved three minutes off that, and he did at the age of 21, making him the youngest men’s marathon winner since Juan Carlos Zabala of Argentina grabbed first place at age 21 in 1932.
Wanjiru’s story is super interesting. At age 15, he was spotted by a visiting talent scout in Nairobi, who brought him to Japan to train under Olympic Silver medallist Koichi Morishita. At age 18, Wanjiru broke the world half-marathon record in Rotterdam and then started winning marathons left and right. By the time he made it to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he’d already proven himself to be borderline super-human. Sadly, he died three years later when he fell from a balcony in his home in Nyahururu, Kenya. RIP King Sammy.
Tiki Gelana, London 2012
Question: Who sets world records in the rain? Answer: Ethiopia’s Tiki Gelana. Tiki’s road to Olympic glory is utterly incredible. How’s this for progression: She placed third at the 2009 Dublin Marathon—her first ever marathon—then fourth at the Los Angeles Marathon in 2010, first at the 2011 Amsterdam Marathon (nearly eight minutes faster than her best effort thus far), she broke the Ethiopian record at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon (2:18:58), and then—that same goddamn year—she won the Women’s Olympic Marathon.
Gelana crossed the finish line at 2:23:07, a mere five seconds ahead of the second placer and seven seconds ahead of the previous world record set by Naoki Takahashi in Sydney 2000. But it was pissing rain at Gelana's marathon, and if you’ve ever run in the rain, you know it’s a very different ball game. At one point, Gelana slipped over at a water station and badly injured her elbow. Despite the odds, she nabbed that gold medal and then recorded a PB in the half marathon at the Great Northern Run the following month because she was bored. Incredible.
