I would have been quite disappointed if I hadn’t been tabled to push forward for the final ten miles, but I think I just left myself too much to do.
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Rupp, for his part, had none other than Adam Sandler to thank for his performance.
Since his time as a collegiate runner at the University of Oregon, Rupp had only run middle distance events on the track. Running 26.2 miles for just the second time, he claimed the bronze medal Sunday morning in Rio.
His victory also means that the men’s and women’s marathons at Rio 2016 were both won by Kenyans, making Rio 2016 the first Games where a country has won the double. Eliud Kipchoge has been the dominant marathoner the last two years and is at the front of the leading group, while his Kenyan teammate Stanley Biwott also is a contender.
Kipchoge, who won the London Marathon in April, stormed to victory in two hours, eight minutes and 44 seconds – 70secs ahead of second-placed Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia. He finished fifth in the shorter race.
Rupp finished in 2:10:05. He crossed his wrists at the finish line, during the gift ceremony and again during the news conference in the symbol for the anti-government protests in Ethiopia.
It was just the second career marathon for the former OR star and three-time Olympian, who made his debut at the longer distance with a victory in the Olympic Marathon Trials in February.
Rupp had trouble accepting his finish in the 10,000 here because in London four years ago he took silver behind training partner Mo Farah of Great Britain.
Ahead of the Games, Rupp chose to transition from the 5,000 meters and 10,000 to the marathon. I don’t want to say I am the greatest.
Meb Keflezighi of the US did some push-ups at the finish line after slipping, having a little fun to celebrate his final Olympic marathon. He’s a statistics professor at BYU, where he graduated with a master’s degree in the same discipline past year.
Fast-twitch nation has undergone a transformation with the final act playing out Sunday at the rainy Rio Games marathon.
Running in his fourth and final Olympics, Keflezighi told NBC he actually had to stop and rest seven times during the race.
Representing Cambodia and running under his real name, Kuniaki Takizaki, he finished in 139th, just over 37 minutes behind the victor. Keflezighi, 41, is the second oldest U.S. Olympic runner of all time, behind Bernard Lagat, who ran the 5000m in Rio.
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A few steps from the finish line he lost his footing on a slick surface, fell and slid across the line where he squeezed off a couple of push-ups for humor’s sake. Jemima Jelagat Sumgong won the women’s marathon on Sunday 14 August. The United States became the first team to win 1,000 gold medals in summer games competition, and a record 87 teams got at least one medal in Rio. The victory came the day after the USA women’s team also won the Olympic bronze medal.
