Marathon, Women

Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) was the defending gold medalist and had won several major city marathons in the last few years, including New York in 2021, Boston in 2022, and London in 2024. She was expected to be challenged by the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan, who had won bronze in the 10,000 metres only two days before this event started, and was attempting the distance triple of the 5-10K-Marathon at Paris 2024. She had two bronze medals from the 5,000 and 10,000 metres as this race began. Also formidable was Ethiopian Tigst Assefa, who had set the world record of 2:11:53 at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.

The race started at 0800 and was the final event on the athletics programme at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The course was exceptionally hilly, especially a section from 16-33 km, with several steep climbs and descents, reaching an average 10% uphill grade at the famous “Côte du Pavé des Gardes”. At the base of the “wall climb” at 28 km, the front group was down to 12 runners. Assefa and 2023 World Champion Amane Beriso Shankule (ETH) led the pack up the hill, with Hassan dropping off the pace initially. She regrouped, however, and joined the leaders as they crested the difficult climb, now down to nine runners.

By 37 km, the lead group was down to five – Assefa, Hassan, Shankule, and Kenyans Hellen Obiri and Sharon Lokedi. Shankule was the first to drop off the pace and Obiri would be dropped with only 800 metres remaining, leaving Assefa, Hassan, and Lokedi to fight out the medals, or so it seemed. Hassan and Assefa had too much left for Lokedi and they fought for gold in a sprint finish, Hassan’s superior speed bringing her home first by three seconds over Assefa. Behind them, Obiri found another gear as Lokedi flagged and Obiri took the bronze medal.

Hassan finished the Paris 2024 Olympics with three medals in the distance races, bronze at both 5,000 and 10,000 metres and gold in the marathon. Though a few had tried this triple, all previously on the men’s side, Hassan had hoped to duplicate the feat of Emil Zátopek, who had won gold in all three races in a single edition at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Only Finland’s Hannes Kolehmainen and France’s Alain Mimoun also won medals at these three events, but over several Olympic Games.