Olympic Marathons 7–8 August 2021, Japan
A race apart Lintao Zhang/ Getty
Marathons of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Long after Tokyo won the right to stage the 2020 Olympic Games attention belatedly focused on its suitability as venue for staging endurance events – in particular the Marathons and the Walks. The scenes of distress that had followed the finish of the 2019 World Championships Marathon in Doha, particularly of the women’s race, led to a reconsideration. Tokyo was likely to present equally difficult conditions of heat and humidity as Doha but Sapporo, 800km further north, looked like a more distance runner-friendly location. Meteorological statistics suggested that Sapporo could be six degrees cooler than Tokyo at the beginning of August so the Marathons and walks were separated from the rest of the athletics events and passed over to Sapporo against the protestations of the Governor of Tokyo. In the end conditions in Sapporo, although probably less severe than they would have been in Tokyo, were not as benign as predicted. It was hot (over 30C) and humid for both men’s and women’s races, held on consecutive days. To a large extent this shaped the nature of the competition: big lead groups held together far into the race because of the slow pace at which the first half of each race was run.
Lintao Zhang/Getty
Doing it by halves
Women’s Olympic Marathon, 7 August 2021 Peres Jepchirchir won the Women’s Olympic Marathon for Kenya in hot and humid conditions as temperatures rose above 30C in the final stages of the race. She beat her compatriot, race favourite and world record holder Brigid Kosgei, by pushing on ahead of her rival just after 40km and opening up a gap which grew to 80m by the finish line. Molly Seidel, an
Peres Jepchirchir (KEN), Brigid Kosgei (KEN) and Molly Seidel (USA) after finishing the Women’s Marathon Final Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Distance Running | 2021 Edition 4
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