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His Olympic record time of 2:06:32 beats the long standing olympic record of 2:09:21 set by Carlos Lopes
of Portugal at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
The 21-year-old Kenyan was part of a group of Marathoners that had set a brisk pace from the beginning of the race. Wansiru was able to break away from the pack and establish a comfortable lead in the last few miles of the race.
Jaouad Gharib of Morocco finished 44 seconds behind Wansiru with a time of 2:07:16 to earn the silver medal.
Jaouad Gharib - Silver Medalist
Kebede Tsegay earned the Bronze Medal with a time of 2:10:00. Kebede Tsegay displayed a strong leg kick
upon entering the Olympic Stadium to over take fellow Ethopian Deriba Merga who finished in fourth place.
Lel Martin of Kenya finished in 5th. Viktor Rothlin of Switzerland,
Gashaw Asfaw of Ethiopia, Yared Asmerom of Eritrea, and Americans Dathan Ritzenhein and Ryan Hall rounded out the
top 10 finishers.
2004 Athens Summer Olympics Gold Medalist Stefano Baldini of Italy finished in 12th place.
Olympic Men's Marathon
In the absence of world record holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, who chose to run the 10,000 meters,
several runners were favored to challenge for medals in an event that is always difficult to predict.
This year's Olympic Marathon was even more difficult to predict given the deep field of highly talented runners which
is compounded by the summer heat, humidity and often-talked about Beijing pollution.
Beijing's heat, humidity and pollution did not play a large role as the marathon was run in the early hours
of the day. As such, the lead pack of runners were able to establish a fast-pace from the onset of the marathon.
Oddly enough, the fastest previous time in an Olympics Marathon was at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games.
Los Angeles is known for its notorious smog conditions. Marathoner Carlos Lopes of Portugal won Gold in 1984 with
a winning time of 2 hours 9 minutes and 21 sewconds (2:09:21).
Two Ethiopians have run under 2 hours 7 minutes. Deriba Merga of Ethiopia has a personal best of 2:06:38,
while his teammate 2008 Paris Marathon winner Tsegay Kebede has run 2:06:40.
Martin Lel of Kenya brings this year's fastest time of 2:05:15 into the event. Lel won his third London
Marathon in 2008 and has also won the New York Marathon twice. Lel's chances will depend on how well he has
recovered from a ligament tear he suffered in his left ankle earlier in the year.
2007 world champion Luke Kibet and world half marathon record holder Samuel Kamau Wansiru will join Lel
in an effort to win Kenya's first Olympic Games gold medal in this event.
RELATED:
Marathoners Jaouad Gharib & Mubarak Hassan Shami Preview 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Men's Marathon
Men's Marathon at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
This year's Olympic Marathon is even more difficult to predict given the deep field of highly talented runners which
is compounded by the summer heat, humidity and often-talked about Beijing pollution. If Beijing's pollution is to
play a part in these Olympics, the Men's Olympic Marathon race is the likeliest of candidates to be impacted.
Oddly enough, the fastest time run in an Olympics Marathon was at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games.
Los Angeles is known for its notorious smog conditions.
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