Kipchoge, who finished in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 44 seconds, is a former world champion at 5,000 meters, and he has Olympic silver and bronze medals from the 2008 and 2004 Olympics.
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“I would say the goal was a Top-10 finish with an open-ended opportunity to chase down that medal if the opportunity came”, he said.
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.
Earlier on Saturday, Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba grabbed his country the first ever medal in the Olympics after claiming silver in the women’s 800m, finishing second behind South Africa’s Castrer Semenya.
A couple of days before the 2016 Olympic men’s marathon, Galen Rupp watched the movie “Happy Gilmore”. “I don’t think I really, truly understood that until I started doing it in L.A., but it’s something special”. The gold went to Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, and Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia won silver.
“I fought being a marathoner”, Rupp said to NBC’s Lewis Johnson, “but maybe this is my best event”. “It wasn’t really easy but I felt comfortable”, said Kipchoge, who is tipped for an assault on Dennis Kimetto’s world record.
Not Rupp, at least not toward the end.
Rupp, 30, spent almost the entire race among the first pack, stride for stride with several worldwide front-runners from Kenya and Ethiopia, before joining Kipchoge and Lilesa in the lead group for the race’s final stretch in a three-man push for gold. I got it out of my system and made a decision to have an attacking race.
After losing the last two finals in Beijing and London, Brazil reclaimed the title they’d won in Athens as they beat Italy 25-22, 28-26, 26-24 at the Maracanazinho in Rio.
“I kind of switched back and forth where I wanted to attack and go get this guy because he was looking back and he wasn’t feeling too great either”, Rupp said. “I kept telling myself, ‘Stick in it, stick in it, nobody’s tougher than you, keep pushing.’ I was able to fortunately hold on”. “My calves were really starting to lock up. Maybe, this is my best event”, said the American. “At some point you gotta turn the page and look forward”.
He completed the distance in 2:31.58 – over 20 minutes behind Kipchoge – in 129th place. “It got rough at 30K but I was able to keep the rhythm going and not falter too much”. “But about Wednesday or Thursday, it was full speed ahead for the marathon”.
Ward, who finished third at the Olympic Marathon Trials, already likes what he has seen from Rupp.
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“Being able to run with them, I enjoyed every bit of it”, Keflezighi said.
