PREVIEW: 2024 Men’s Olympic Marathon

Follow our live coverage of the men’s Olympic Marathon HERE.

Want to know our predictions for the 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon? We talked about it on the Marathon Handbook Podcast.

The men’s marathon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is poised to be an unforgettable event.

Among the frontrunners is Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya’s legendary marathoner, who is aiming for a historic third consecutive Olympic gold. At 39, Kipchoge remains at the pinnacle of the sport, holding four of the ten fastest marathon times in history, including his former world record of 2:01:09 set in Berlin in 2023.

However, despite a laundry list of accolades, Kipchoge’s recent form has shown signs of vulnerability.

He finished tenth at the Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:06:50, a surprising result that has created doubts about whether he could truly pull off this triple. The Tokyo Marathon winner, Benson Kipruto, who currently holds the fastest marathon time of the year of 2:02:16, is set to give Kipchoge a run for his money in Paris.

A key storyline to watch is the renewed rivalry between Kipchoge and Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele.

Both veterans of the sport, Bekele earned his spot on the Ethiopian Olympic team after an impressive second-place finish at the London Marathon, clocking 2:04:15. The two last met in the 2018 London Marathon, where Kipchoge emerged victorious. Their rivalry, which began at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, will certainly be one to watch.

The Ethiopian team is particularly strong, featuring 2022 World Champion Tamirat Tola and Deresa Geleta. Tola, known for his consistent performances, finished third at last year’s London Marathon and set a course record to win the New York Marathon. Geleta, on the other hand, captured the Seville Marathon with a record-breaking time of 2:03:27.

European athletes, although not medal favorites, are also expected to be in the mix. Abdi Nageeye from the Netherlands, who recently won the Rotterdam Marathon with a time of 2:04:45, and Belgium’s Bashir Abdi, who holds Europe’s second-fastest time of 2:03:47, are both in top form.

Uganda’s Victor Kiplangat, the 2023 World Champion, also joins the field, bringing his personal best from the Hamburg Marathon and a strong performance earlier this year in Tokyo.

Italy’s Yeman Crippa will make his major marathon debut after transitioning from track and half-marathon events, having set a new Italian record of 2:06:06 in Seville. Meanwhile, the UK’s Emile Cairess, who finished third at the London Marathon, and a competitive Eritrean trio, Samson Amare, Berhane Tesfay, and Henok Tesfay, round out a diverse and deep field.

With such a strong lineup, the Paris 2024 men’s marathon promises to deliver thrilling competition and potentially historic performances.

The Paris Olympic Marathon Course

The Paris 2024 Olympic Marathon course is not for the faint-hearted. Unlike recent Olympic marathons that featured flat, looped courses, this marathon presents a significant challenge with its varied terrain and elevation changes. 

The route’s elevation gain of 1,430 feet (436 meters) is almost double that of the hilliest World Marathon Majors, such as Boston and New York City, which both feature around 800 feet of elevation gain.

The first significant challenge comes just before the 10-mile mark, where runners will encounter a steep climb with a 4% grade lasting about 1.25 miles. This is followed by an even steeper climb at the 12-mile mark, with a 5% grade over 900 meters. 

However, these hills are just a prelude to the main challenge of the course: a brutal climb just after the 18-mile mark, where the gradient reaches a punishing 10.5% over 600 meters.

The course also includes a total descent of 1,437 feet (438 meters), which may prove to be just as challenging as the climbs. 

After the final uphill section, runners will have to navigate a sharp descent with a gradient of up to -13.5%. This downhill portion will require careful pacing and control, as excessive pounding on the quads could lead to fatigue and muscle damage before the final flat stretch to the finish line.

How To Watch The 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon

The 2024 Olympic Games will be broadcast live from Paris via Peacock, which will require a monthly subscription ($5.99), and you are geolocated in the United States.

With NBC holding the broadcast rights to the games, you can also stream online via NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC app, or the NBC Olympics app, provided you can authenticate your cable subscription.

Live and tape-delayed coverage of track and field will be shown on TV channels NBC, USA, and E!

If you’re not able to watch your favorite athletes or events live, you can still catch all the action with full event replays on the NBCOlympics.com Replays Hub.

2024 Men’s Olympic Marathon Startlist

Name	Country	Personal Best
Yaseen Abdalla	SUD	DEBUT
Bashir Abdi	BEL	2:03:36
Tadesse Abraham	SUI	2:05:01
Liam Adams	AUS	2:08:39
Akira Akasaki	JPN	2:09:01
Moath Alkhawaldeh	JOR	2:18:43
Girmaw Amare	ISR	2:05:52
Samson Amare	ERI	2:07:10
Morhad Amdouni	FRA	2:03:47
Gashau Ayale	ISR	2:04:53
Samuel Barata	POR	2:07:35
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir	MGL	2:08:50
Kenenisa Bekele	ETH	2:01:41
Valentin Betoudji	CHA	2:18:20
Felix Bour	FRA	2:06:46
Andrew Buchanan	AUS	2:08:58
Emile Cairess	GBR	2:06:46
Hugo Catrileo	CHI	2:08:44
Ibrahim Chakir	ESP	2:07:48
Khalid Choukoud	NED	2:07:37
Yemaneberhan Crippa	ITA	2:06:06
Shokhrukh Davlyatov	UZB	2:07:02
Carlos Diaz	CHI	2:08:04
Othmane El Goumri	MAR	2:05:12
Eyod Faniel	ITA	2:07:09
Samuel Fitwi Sibhatu	GER	2:06:27
Samuel Freire	CPV	2:11:01
Tachlowini Gabriyesos	EOR	2:09:00
Eduardo Terrance Garcia	ISV	2:17:09
Héctor Garibay	BOL	2:07:44
Gabriel Geay	TAN	2:03:00
Elroy Gelant	RSA	2:08:56
Deresa Geleta	ETH	2:03:27
Alberto Gonzalez Mindez	GUA	2:07:40
Il Ryong Han	PRK	2:09:42
Ibrahim Hassan	DJI	2:06:43
Suldan Hassan	SWE	2:07:36
Jie He	CHN	2:06:57
Dario Ivanovski	MKD	2:08:26
Eliud Kipchoge	KEN	2:01:09
Victor Kiplangat	UGA	2:05:09
Benson Kipruto	KEN	2:02:16
Stephen Kissa	UGA	2:04:48
Leonard Korir	USA	2:07:56
Naoki Koyama	JPN	2:06:33
Andrew Kwemoi	UGA	2:07:14
Matthias Kyburz	SUI	2:07:44
Cameron Levins	CAN	2:05:36
Rory Linkletter	CAN	2:08:01
Mahamed Mahamed	GBR	2:07:05
Conner Mantz	USA	2:07:47
Daniele Meucci	ITA	2:07:49
Zerei Kbrom Mezngi	NOR	2:07:10
Sondre Nordstad Moen	NOR	2:05:48
Stephen Mokoka	RSA	2:06:42
Isaac Mpofu	ZIM	2:06:48
Alexander Munyao	KEN	2:03:11
Koen Naert	BEL	2:06:56
Abdi Nageeye	NED	2:04:45
Nicolas Navarro	FRA	2:05:53
Tariku Novales	ESP	2:05:48
Suguru Osako	JPN	2:05:29
Mohcin Outalha	MAR	2:06:49
Kaan Kigen Özbilen	TUR	2:04:16
Chrisitan Pacheco	PER	2:07:38
Amanal Petros	GER	2:04:58
Tebello Ramakongoana	LES	2:08:09
Richard Ringer	GER	2:07:05
Yago Rojo	ESP	2:07:47
Philip Sesemann	GBR	2:08:04
Alphonce Felix Simbu	TAN	2:05:39
Michael Somers	BEL	2:08:09
Zouhair Talbi	MAR	2:06:39
Maru Teferi	ISR	2:06:43
Berhan Tesfay	ERI	2:07:07
Henok Tesfay	ERI	2:07:12
Patrick Tiernan	AUS	2:07:45
Tamirat Tola	ETH	2:03:39
Xiangdong Wu	CHN	2:08:04
Shaohui Yang	CHN	2:07:09
Clayton Young	USA	2:08:00