Marathon, Men

By 1980, the two best marathon runners in the world were America’s Bill Rodgers and Japan’s Toshihiko Seko. Rodgers won the New York Marathon in 1976-79, Fukuoka in 1977, and Boston in 1978-80, and Seko won Fukuoka in 1979-80. However, the American-sponsored boycott prevented Rodgers and Seko their chance at Olympic gold in 1980. The GDR’s Waldemar Cierpinski, the defending champion, was back. Since his 1976 gold medal, he had run nine marathons, winning four of them. Unfortunately for him, at the major races, Fukuoka and the 1978 European Championships, he had failed to win, his best placing being third at Fukuoka in 1976.

The Moskva marathon course was run along the Moskva River, and was very flat. The race started at 5:15 PM in very warm conditions. Cierpinski took the lead in the race after 30 km and stayed ahead to win his second gold medal. The Netherlands’ Gerard Nijboer placed second, and three Soviets placed third, fourth, and fifth.