Watch the eight most iconic Olympic marathons on video

Eliud Kipchoge will attempt to win a third consecutive gold medal when he lines up in a Paris 2024 marathon that is primed to be one of the most challenging and beautiful in Olympic history. But the path to the reigning world record holder’s legend began long before, as other Olympic greats paved the way with iconic performances in the marathon. They include Abebe Bikila’s barefoot victory at Rome 1960, Naoko Takahashi’s win for Japan in Sydney 2000 and Josia Thugwane’s gold five months after being shot in South Africa.

Follow Olympics.com on a deep dive into eight of the most iconic marathon races below.

Helsinki 1952, Emil Zatopek takes it all

Having already won gold in the 10,000m and 5,000m races at Helsinki 1952, Emil Zatopek lined up on the starting line for the marathon. Zapotek was already well-known after winning two Olympic medals at London 1948, including gold in the 10,000m and silver in the 5,000m. However, this was to be his first attempt at the marathon distance.

In the end, the athlete from Czechoslovakia who had broken 18 world records in his lifetime did what he did best: win. And he did it in an Olympic record of 2:23:03. He remains the only athlete in history to do the 5,000/10,000/marathon treble at the same Olympic Games.

Rome 1960, Abebe Bikila soars to victory barefoot

When Abebe Bikila arrived in Rome to compete at the 1960 Olympic Games following the withdrawal of a teammate, he had only one pair of worn running shoes with him. He was used to running barefoot in Ethiopia and during a medical test, doctors noticed he had a layer of thick skin under his feet. He attempted to find new shoes in Rome, but all of the ones he tried were ill fitting or gave him blister, so he decided to run barefoot. Bikila won the race in a time of 2:15:16, becoming the first East African runner to win an Olympic marathon. It was the first of two his two gold medals in the marathon, as he repeated the feat at Tokyo 1964 - this time wearing running shoes.

Los Angeles 1984, Joan Benoit makes history

Seventeen years after Kathrine Switzer became the first female runner to run an official marathon in Boston, the first women’s Olympic marathon took place in Los Angeles. The reigning world champion Grete Waitz from Norway and Chicago marathon winner Rosa Mota from Portugal were among the runners hoping to bring back the first Olympic marathon gold medal, however Joan Benoit, who had broken the world record in the 1983 Boston Marathon, just a day after Waitz had done the same in London, is also after the prize. In the race, she pulled away from the pack and maintained her strong pace to arrive first at the Memorial Coliseum in a time of 2:24:52. Waitz finished second and Mota third. In 2019, Benoit finished the Boston Marathon in 3:04:00.

Seoul 1988, Rosa Mota’s revenge

Winning bronze in the first women’s marathon would not be enough for Rosa Mota. At Seoul 1988, she returned to the Games alongside Olympians including Australia’s Lisa Martin, who finished 7th four years before, and Laura Fogli, who was 9th in Los Angeles. But Mota, who won her second European title in 1986 and her first world title in 1987, confirmed her dominance by winning the only major title she didn’t hold in 2:25:40, just 13 seconds ahead of Martin.

Atlanta 1996, Josia Thugwane makes history for South Africa

Just five months before the Atlanta Games, Josia Thugwane was the victim of a carjacking in his home country of South Africa that ended with him being shot. The bullet landed close to his chin, but the athlete survived with his most serious issue being a back injury sustained when he exited the car. By the time of the centenary Games in Atlanta, Thugwane was fit and ready to compete. When the race got underway, he stayed with the leading pack including Republic of Korea’s LEE Bong-ju and Kenya’s Erick Wainaina as they entered the Olympic stadium. At the end of a gruelling race, Thugwane finishes first, three seconds ahead of Lee, to become the first black South African in history to win gold.

Sydney 2000, Naoko Takahashi triumphs against the odds

Japanese runner Naoko Takahashi was not a strong favourite when she lined up in the Sydney 2000 marathon. Kenya’s Tegla Loroupe, the reigning world record holder who set a time of 2:20:43 a year earlier in Berlin and the reigning Olympic champion Fatuma Roba from Ethiopia both seemed to have more chance of winning. But at the mid-point of the race, Takahashi made her move, followed by Lidia Șimon of Romania and Joyce Chepchumba of Kenya. Takahashi, who had won the marathon at the 1998 Asian Games, surged ahead at kilometre 35 to win the race in a new Olympic record time of 2:23:14. Her victory also saw her become the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic marathon.

London 2012, Tiki Gelana breaks the Olympic record

The streets of England’s capital had already seen many 42,195km races, with the London Marathon having taken place every year since 1981. Kenya’s Mary Keitany knew those streets very well, having won back-to-back London Marathons in 2011 and 2012, before lining up for the Olympic marathon of London 2012. But in this race, the pace was slow until the runners reached the half marathon mark, picking up gradually in the second half of the race as a pack of four surged ahead into the last 5km. Keitany is the first to drop off the pace as Ethiopia’s Tiki Gelana made her move. Priscah Jeptoo from Kenya tried to hold on but could not follow, leaving Gelena to cross the finish line in an Olympic record of 2:23:7.

Rio 2016, Eliud Kipchoge finally wins gold

Even though Eliud Kipchoge was not the world record holder in 2016, he landed in Rio as the clear favourite following his second consecutive victory in the London Marathon just four months earlier. After winning bronze in the 5,000m at Athens 2004 and silver at Beijing 2008, Kipchoge had his eyes firmly set on gold. At kilometre 30, Kipchoge made his move, followed only by Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia and the USA’s Galen Rupp. But 5km later, there was nobody that could stay with him as the Kenyan blazed to gold. 

Kipchoge recently set a new world record of 2:01:09 in the 2022 Berlin Marathon and is planning to attempt to win an unprecedented third consecutive marathon gold, after his second Olympic triumph in Tokyo, at Paris 2024.