Olympic Games

Olympic Marathon Winners

For a complete list of the winners, see the list of Olympic Games men winners and women winners.

In the marathon in 1900, Fred Lorz hitched a ride in a car for eleven miles, and was briefly taken as being the winner until this was brought to notice.
In London 1908, Italian Dorando Pietri needed to be helped across the finish line of the marathon, and was declared the winner before being disqualified in favor of Johnny Hayes of the U.S.
The Korean Kitei Song (Kee ChungSohn) won the marathon at the 1936 Games in Berlin running, unhappily, in Japanese colours because his country was occupied by Japan.
In Rome, 1960, Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila, running barefoot, became the first black African to take home a gold medal. Four years later in 1964, Abebea was the first man to successfully defend the marathon title. This time less than six weeks after having his appendix removed. He only wore shoes for the second victory.
In 1972 American Frank Shorter pulled the US into the running boom by winning the gold medal in the marathon at the Munich Olympics. Shorter was actually born in Munich.
Joan Benoit of the USA won the first women's Olympic marathon in Los Angeles in 1984.