Summer Olympics: marathon winning times 1896-2024| ��ƽ��

Gold medal winning times in the Men's and Women's marathon at the Summer Olympics from 1896 to 2024 (in minutes*)

Year	Men	Women
Paris 2024	126.43	142.92
Tokyo 2020	128.63	147.33
Rio 2016	128.73	144.07
London 2012	128.02	143.12
Beijing 2008	126.53	146.73
Athens 2004	130.92	146.33
Sydney 2000	130.18	143.23
Atlanta 1996	132.06	146.08
Barcelona 1992	133.38	152.68
Seoul 1988	130.53	144.67
Los Angeles 1984	129.35	144.87
Moscow 1980	131.05	-
Montreal 1976	129.92	-
Munich 1972	132.33	-
Mexico City 1968	140.44	-
Tokyo 1964	132.19	-
Rome 1960	135.27	-
Melbourne 1956	145	-
Helsinki 1952	143.05	-
London 1948	154.86	-
Berlin 1936	149.32	-
Los Angeles 1932	151.6	-
Amsterdam 1928	152.95	-
Paris 1924	161.38	-
Antwerp 1920	152.6	-
Stockholm 1912	156.91	-
London 1908	175.31	-
St. Louis 1904	208.88	-
Paris 1900	179.75	-
Athens 1896	178.83	-

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Release date

2024

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

1896 to 2024

Supplementary notes

This data was collected using the official Olympics.com site, as well as a spreadsheet from the Guardian that includes data from 1896-2008 (), and data was compared with that from Encyclopaedia Britannica, and several news outlets were used to update the table when medals were reassigned (i.e. for doping offenses).��

In order to display the data visually, the times have been converted into metric minutes. The standard times (male listed first) are as follows (h:mm:ss):
1896 - 2:58:50
1900 - 2:59:45
1904 - 3:28:53
1908 - 2:55:18
1912 - 2:36:55
1920 - 2:32:36
1924 - 2:41:23
1928 - 2:32:57
1932 - 2:31:36
1936 - 2:29:19
1948 - 2:34:52
1952 - 2:23:03
1956 - 2:25:00
1960 - 2:15:16
1964 - 2:12:11
1968 - 2:20:26
1972 - 2:12:20
1976 - 2:09:55
1980 - 2:11:03
1984 - 2:09:21 & 2:24:52
1988 - 2:10:32 & 2:24:40
1992 - 2:13:23 & 2:32:41
1996 - 2:12:36 & 2:26:05
2000 - 2:10:11 & 2:23:14
2004 - 2:10:55 & 2:26:20
2008 - 2:06:32 & 2:26:44
2012 - 2:08:01 & 2:23:07
2016 - 2:08:44 & 2:24:04
2020 - 2:08:38 & 2:27:20
2024 - 2:06:26 & 2:22:55

The winning athletes (male listed first) and their represented countries are as follows:
1896 - Spyridon Louis (Greece)
1900 - Michel Theato (France)
1904 - Thomas Hicks (US)
1908 - John Hayes (US)
1912 - Kennedy Kane McArthur (South Africa)
1920 - Hannes Kolehmainen (Finland)
1924 - Albin Stenroos (Finland)
1928 - Boughera El Ouafi (France)
1932 - Juan Carlos Zabala (Argentina)
1936 - Kitei Son (Japan)
1948 - Delfo Cabrera (Argentina)
1952 - Emil Zatopek (Czechoslovakia)
1956 - Alain Mimoun (France)
1960 - Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia)
1964 - Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia)
1968 - Mamo Wolde (Ethiopia)
1972 - Frank Charles Shorter (US)
1976 - Waldemar Cerpinski (East Germany)
1980 - Waldemar Cerpinski (East Germany)
1984 - Carlos Lopes (Portugal) & Joan Benoit (US)
1988 - Gelindo Bordin (Italy) & Rosa Mota (Portugal)
1992 - Young-Cho Hwang (South Korea) & Valentina Yegorova (Unified Team)
1996 - Josia Thugwane (South Africa) & Fatuma Roba (Ethiopia)
2000 - Gazahegne Abera (Ethiopia) & Naoko Takahashi (Japan)
2004 - Stefano Baldini (Italy) & Mizuki Noguchi (Japan)
2008 - Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (Kenya) & Constantina Tomescu (Romania)
2012 - Stephen Kiprotich (Uganda) & Tiki Gelana (Ethiopia)
2016 - Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) & Jemima Jelagat Sumgong (Kenya)
2020 - Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) & Peres Jepchirchir (Kenya)
2024 - Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia) & Sifan Hassan (Netherlands)

Citation formats

The Olympic marathon has been a permanent fixture in the men's roster since the inaugural Athens Games of 1896, while the women's event was first held 88 years later in Los Angeles. The Paris 2024 Olympics saw new records set in both the men's and women's marathon events, with Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands recording times of 2:06:25 and 2:22:55, respectively.��

Which country has been most successful in the Olympic marathon?

Ethiopian athletes have enjoyed the most success in Olympic marathons, with men winning five golds; two of which came from Abebe Bikila in 1960 and 1964, who was the first athlete to win back-to-back golds (the only other athletes to do this were East Germany's Waldemar Cierpinski in 1976 and 1980, and Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge). Meanwhile, Ethiopian women have won two golds.��

Origins of the marathon

In the Athens Olympics of 1896, the marathon was the most distinguished event of the tournament for the host nation, and winning it was the top priority. The inspiration for the marathon came from a Greek myth, where Pheidippides ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to deliver the news that Greece had successfully repelled the first Persian invasion in 490BCE. A route was created from the town of Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, and was approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) long. Athenian runner Spyridon Louis went on to win the inaugural Olympic marathon, and became a national hero in the process. It was not until the London Olympics in 1908 where the distance of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 km) would become the marathon standard, and the men's event is traditionally the final event of each Olympic Games.