Samuel Wanjiru had already made a name for himself in the heady world of Kenyan distance running. Now he stands alone, pulling away over the final few kilometers yesterday to become the first Kenyan to win an Olympic marathon.
Wanjiru negotiated the 42.2km course through the streets of Beijing in bright morning sunshine in an Olympic record of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds.
“In Kenya we have many medals,” Wanjiru said. “But I’m glad I have this one.”
PHOTO: AP
Kenyans had twice won men’s marathon silver, most recently in 2000, but never a gold.
At the Beijing Games, Kenya won 14 track and field medals, behind only the US (23) and Russia (18). Five of them were gold.
The biggest concern about this race leading to the Olympics was the quality of the air. World record-holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia decided not to run because of the pollution. But yesterday, after an overnight thunderstorm, a glorious blue sky greeted the final day of these Games.
PHOTO: EPA
The women’s marathon a week earlier was run in a light rain and the air quality posed no problems for the runners.
The race began at the edge of Tiananmen Square, then wound around the Temple of Heaven before turning toward the Olympic Green and the Bird’s Nest, where colorful dancers, drummers and cyclists entertained the crowd as it awaited the runners.
It was just the third marathon for the 21-year-old Wanjiru, who first set the world half-marathon record at age 18, then broke it twice again last year.
Two-time world champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco won the silver in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 16 seconds. Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia, winner of this year’s Paris Marathon, took the bronze in 2 hours, 10 minutes. Ethiopian Deriba Merga led much of the race, but faded badly at the end to wind up fourth.
The crowd roared as Wanjiru entered the Bird’s Nest and he responded by raising his left hand, then clapped several times. The final lap in the last event of the track and field at the Beijing Olympics was run around an infield painted blue for the night’s closing ceremony.
Just across the line, Wanjiru kneeled and crossed himself several times. He had just broken the Olympic mark of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 21 seconds set by Carlos Lopes of Portugal in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
As Wanjiru was still on one knee, Gharib ran across the line for the silver.
“I had to push the pace to tire the other runners,” Wanjiru said. “I had to push the pace because my body gets tired when I slow down.”
Wanjiru won the Fukuoka International Marathon in Japan last December and was runner-up at the London Marathon in April.
Defending Olympic champion Stefano Baldini of Italy, in his final marathon, finished 12th, then praised those who finished at the front.
“In the last 10km it was unbelievable what the ... Africans were able to do under these conditions,” he said.
The temperature was 24ºC with 52 percent humidity when the race began at 7:30am and it heated up steadily through the morning, reaching 30ºC by the finish.
The lead pack began to separate through the first 5km. By the halfway mark, eight were grouped at the front, led by Eritrean Yonas Kifle.
After 30km, the pack had dwindled to three — Wanjiru, Merga and Gharib.
Reigning world champion Luke Kibet of Kenya stayed with the leaders through the early stages, but fell back and finally pulled out of the race shortly past the halfway mark. He later said he had a stomach problem.
Twenty minutes after Wanjiru crossed the line, Taiwan’s Wu Wen-chien came home in 59th place, clocking a time of 2 hours, 26 minutes, 55 seconds.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Nineteen wickets fell yesterday on an opening day of carnage in the first Ashes Test, with England’s attack led by skipper Ben Stokes bowling them into a position of strength after Australia dismissed the tourists for 172. A rampaging Mitchell Starc took 7-58 to put England on the back foot after Stokes won the toss on a fine day at a packed Perth Stadium and chose to bat. Harry Brook (52) and Ollie Pope (46) offered the only resistance as they crumbled after lunch, but England’s elite fast bowlers, led by an exceptional Stokes with 5-23, fought back to reduce the hosts
Paul Pogba on Saturday described his emotional Monaco debut as a moment of relief and gratitude, after the French midfielder returned to the pitch for the first time in more than two years following a doping ban. The former Juventus and Manchester United player, who joined the French Ligue 1 side on a free transfer in June, had not played a competitive match since September 2023. Pogba received a four-year ban in February last year after testing positive for banned substance DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after an appeal at the Court
Houston’s Calen Bullock on Thursday intercepted reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Josh Allen twice and the league’s top defensive unit powered the Texans over Buffalo 23-19. Allen was sacked eight times, his most in any game, for 70 lost yards and Bullock’s final pickoff killed the Bills’ last desperate drive with 18 seconds remaining. The Texans, who have allowed the NFL’s fewest points and fewest yards a game this season, shut down Allen, who produced six touchdowns in a victory over Tampa Bay just four days earlier. “The defense stayed disciplined,” Houston’s Danielle Hunter said. “We had a game plan to keep him
FINAL STRETCH: After the McLaren drivers’ disqualifications, Verstappen’s chances of a fifth successive title would depend on another big slip-up from Norris and his team Formula One world champion Max Verstappen on Saturday produced a masterful drive to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix and his title hopes were boosted further with the McLarens of championship leader Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being disqualified. Norris finished the race in second with Piastri fourth, but the skid blocks on both cars were found after the race to be less than the minimum depth. The disqualifications mean that with two race weekends remaining, four-time defending champion Verstappen is level on points with Piastri in the title race, just 24 points behind Norris. However, Verstappen’s chances of a
RSS