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Olympic Male Marathon Winners

Below are the gold medal winners for each Olympic Games marathon for men. There is much more about the Olympic marathon, including trivia about some of these winners and history of the marathon. See also the winners of the women's marathon, which has only been held since the 1984.

Year	Athlete	Time	notes
1896	Spiridon Louis (Greece)	2:58:50
1900	Michel Théato (Luxembourg)	2:59:45	Fred Lorz hitched a ride in a car for eleven miles, and was briefly hailed as the winner until this was brought to notice.
1904	Thomas Hicks (USA)	3:28:53
1906	William Sherring (Canada)	2:51:23.6
1908	John Hayes (USA)	2:55:18.4	Italian Dorando Pietri needed help across the finish line, and was declared the winner before being disqualified in favor of Johnny Hayes of the US. See video, and also image of Johnny Hayes.
1912	Kenneth McArthur (South Africa)	2:36:54.8	See image of third placegetter, Gaston Strobino.
1920	Hannes Kolehmainen (Finland)	2:32:35.8	See video.
1924	Albin Stenroos (Finland)	2:41:22.6
1928	Boughera El Ouafi (France)	2:32:57.0	El Ouafi was an Algerian athlete during the time Algeria was part of France.
1932	Juan Carlos Zabala (Argentina)	2:31:36.0
1936	Kee-Chung Sohn (Japan)	2:29:19.2	Korean Kitei Song won the marathon, running in Japanese colors because his country was occupied by Japan. See video.
1948	Delfo Cabrera (Argentina)	2:34:51.6
1952	Emil Zátopek (Czech)	2:23:03.2	Zátopek also won gold in the 5 km and 10 km. See video.
1956	Alain Mimoun (Algeria/France)	2:25:00.0	Mimoun was an Algerian representing France, like the 1928 marathon winner.
1960	Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia)	2:15:16.2	Running barefoot, Abebe Bikila became the first black African to take home a gold medal in any sport.
1964	Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia)	2:12:11.2	Abebea was the first man to successfully defend the marathon title.
1968	Mamo Wolde (Ethiopia)	2:20:26.4	See video.
1972	Frank Shorter (USA)	2:12:19.8	Shorter was actually born in Munich. See video.
1976	Waldemar Cierpinski (East Germany)	2:09:55	See video.
1980	Waldemar Cierpinski (East Germany)	2:11:03	See video.
1984	Carlos Lopes (Portugal)	2:09:21
1988	Gelindo Bordin (Italy)	2:10:32	See video.
1992	Hwang Yeong-Jo (Korea)	2:13:23
1996	Josia Thugwane (South Africa)	2:12:36	See video of the medal ceremony.
2000	Gezahegne Abera (Ethiopia)	2:10:11	At 22 years old, Abera was the youngest marathon champion in Olympic history. See video.
2004	Stefano Baldini (Italy)	2:10:55	The race was marred by a spectator tackling the Brazilian runner who was leading at the time. The finish was at Panathinaiko Stadium, the stadium used for the 1896 Athens Olympics. See video.
2008	Samuel Kamau Wansiru (Kenya)	2:06.32
2012	Stephen Kiprotich (Uganda)	2:08:01	Kiprotich upset the Kenyan and Ethiopian favorites, and received the second ever gold medal for Uganda.
2016	Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)	2:08:44
2021	Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)	2:08:38
2024	Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia)	2:06:26