Eliud Kipchoge won the Olympic marathon at Rio 2016, crossing the line in the Sambodromo in 2:08:44. It was, by the clock, the slowest marathon of his career. It was also, he said, the best win of his life.
Rain, a patient field, then a break no one could match
The opening half unfolded in falling rain. Many of the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners pulled on hats to keep the precipitation from their eyes, and the pace stayed relaxed. Ten kilometres passed in 31:08 with more than sixty contenders still tucked within ten seconds of the lead.
The Kenyan trio of Kipchoge, Wesley Korir and Stanley Biwott began to press near 27 kilometres. By the 32-kilometre mark the group was down to four: Kipchoge, Ethiopians Feyisa Lelisa and Lemi Berhanu, and Galen Rupp of the United States. They reached 35 kilometres in 1:47:40, Berhanu already drifting back.
Just before 36 kilometres, Kipchoge motioned Lelisa to take up the running, then saw the Ethiopian straining to hold his shoulder. Within a hundred metres he surged again and was alone. He passed 40 kilometres in 2:02:24 with Lelisa 36 seconds behind, and the gap only widened across the final two kilometres.
A 13-year gap between global titles
The victory was Kipchoge's seventh marathon win in eight starts since his 2013 debut. It placed an Olympic gold beside the 5000-metre world title he claimed as an eighteen-year-old in 2003, a thirteen-year span between his two global crowns. His winning margin was the largest in an Olympic men's marathon since Frank Shorter's victory in 1972.
"It was a championship and it was a bit slow so I decided to take over," he told reporters afterwards. "Everyone wants a medal. I was coming here for gold. This is the best moment of my life."
Rio was the first chapter of his Olympic marathon story. A second title in Sapporo and a series of world records in Berlin were still ahead of him.
