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Athletics at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games:

Women's Marathon

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games

Events:
Phases:

Host City: Beijing, China
Venue(s): Beijing National Stadium, Beijing
Date Started: August 17, 2008
Date Finished: August 17, 2008
Format: 42,195 metres (26 miles, 385 yards) point-to-point.

Gold: ROU Constantina Diţă-Tomescu
Silver: KEN Catherine Ndereba
Bronze: CHN Zhou Chunxiu

Summary

The women’s marathon began at 7:30 in the morning but the temperature was still 23° C. (75° F.) with 73% humidity at the start. The contenders went out very slowly, concerned about the weather, and the pack stayed together for the first hour. The halfway mark was finished in 1-15:11, when Romania’s Constantina Dita decided to push the pace. The pace seemed fast and the other favorites, notably Kenyan Catherine Ndereba, did not go with her. By 35K she had opened a 70-second lead. Britain’s Paula Radcliffe, the world-record holder, had gamely hung on early, but injuries had her well below her best and she barely finished, placing 23rd. In the last few kilometers, the chase group closed somewhat on Dita, but she was never in any trouble, winning by 22 seconds over Ndereba, to become the oldest Olympic marathon champion ever, man or woman. Chinese runners Zhou Chunxiu and Zhu Xiaolin closed quickly to finish 3-4.

Final Standings

Rank Athlete Age Team NOC Medal T
1 Constantina Diţă-Tomescu 38 Romania ROU Gold 2-26:44
2 Catherine Ndereba 36 Kenya KEN Silver 2-27:06
3 Zhou Chunxiu 29 China CHN Bronze 2-27:07
4 Zhu Xiaolin 24 China CHN 2-27:16
5 Martha Komu 25 Kenya KEN 2-27:23
6 Mara Yamauchi 34 Great Britain GBR 2-27:29
7 Irina Timofeyeva 38 Russia RUS 2-27:31
8 Lidia Şimon 34 Romania ROU 2-27:51
9 Souad Aït Salem 29 Algeria ALG 2-28:29
10 Salina Kosgei 31 Kenya KEN 2-29:28
11 Živilė Balčiünaité 29 Lithuania LTU 2-29:33
12 Kim Kum-Ok 19 North Korea PRK 2-30:01
13 Yurika Nakamura 22 Japan JPN 2-30:19
14 Anna Incerti 28 Italy ITA 2-30:55
15 Dire Tune 23 Ethiopia ETH 2-31:16
16 Nina Rillstone 33 New Zealand NZL 2-31:16
17 Bruna Genovese 31 Italy ITA 2-31:31
18 Luminiţa Talpoş 35 Romania ROU 2-31:41
19 Madai Pérez 28 Mexico MEX 2-31:47
20 Christelle Daunay 33 France FRA 2-31:48
21 Benita Willis-Johnson 29 Australia AUS 2-32:06
22 Svetlana Zakharova 37 Russia RUS 2-32:16
23 Paula Radcliffe 34 Great Britain GBR 2-32:38
24 Monika Drybulska 28 Poland POL 2-32:39
25 Lee Eun-Jeong 27 South Korea KOR 2-33:07
26 Liz Yelling 33 Great Britain GBR 2-33:12
27 Blake Russell 33 United States USA 2-33:13
28 Beata Naigambo 28 Namibia NAM 2-33:29
29 Vincenza Sicari 29 Italy ITA 2-33:31
30 Dorota Gruca 37 Poland POL 2-33:32
31 Tetiana Filoniuk 24 Ukraine UKR 2-33:35
32 Marisa Barros 28 Portugal POR 2-34:08
33 Lisa Weightman 29 Australia AUS 2-34:16
34 Kirsten Melkevik Otterbu 38 Norway NOR 2-34:35
35 Liza Hunter-Galvan 39 New Zealand NZL 2-34:51
36 Jong Yong-Ok 27 North Korea PRK 2-34:52
37 Rasa Drazdauskaitė 27 Lithuania LTU 2-35:09
38 Melanie Kraus 33 Germany GER 2-35:17
39 María Portillo 36 Peru PER 2-35:19
40 Helalia Johannes 27 Namibia NAM 2-35:22
41 Zhang Shujing 29 China CHN 2-35:35
42 Lucia Kimani 28 Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH 2-35:47
43 Sandra Ruales 34 Ecuador ECU 2-35:53
44 Kate Smyth 35 Australia AUS 2-36:10
45 Yesenia Centeno 37 Spain ESP 2-36:25
46 Ana Dias 34 Portugal POR 2-36:25
47 Nebiat Habtemariam 29 Eritrea ERI 2-37:03
48 Jo Bun-Hui 28 North Korea PRK 2-37:04
49 Tabitha Tsatsa 35 Zimbabwe ZIM 2-37:10
50 Bahar Doğan 33 Turkey TUR 2-37:12
51 Marily dos Santos 30 Brazil BRA 2-38:10
52 Susanne Hahn 30 Germany GER 2-38:31
53 Chae Eun-Hui 26 South Korea KOR 2-38:52
54 Alessandra Aguilar 30 Spain ESP 2-39:29
55 Patricia Rétiz 37 Mexico MEX 2-39:34
56 Lee Seon-Yeong 23 South Korea KOR 2-43:23
57 Eva-Maria Gradwohl 35 Austria AUT 2-44:24
58 Yuliya Arkhipova-Andreyeva 24 Kyrgyzstan KGZ 2-44:41
59 Sonia Calizaya 32 Bolivia BOL 2-45:53
60 Eleni Donta-Bali 28 Greece GRE 2-46:44
61 Karina Pérez 25 Mexico MEX 2-47:02
62 Bertha Sánchez 29 Colombia COL 2-47:02
63 Pauline Curley 39 Ireland IRL 2-47:16
64 María José Pueyo 38 Spain ESP 2-48:01
65 Petra Teveli 28 Hungary HUN 2-48:32
66 Épiphanie Nyirabaramé 26 Rwanda RWA 2-49:32
67 Zuzana Tomas 31 Slovakia SVK 2-49:39
68 Gabriela Traña 28 Costa Rica CRC 2-53:45
69 Oksana Skliarenko 27 Ukraine UKR 2-55:39
AC Berhane Adere 35 Ethiopia ETH DNF
AC Gete Wami 33 Ethiopia ETH DNF
AC Inês Monteiro 28 Portugal POR DNF
AC Valentina Delion 34 Moldova MDA DNF
AC Reiko Tosa 32 Japan JPN DNF
AC Olivera Jevtić 31 Serbia SRB DNF
AC Galina Bogomolova 30 Russia RUS DNF
AC Mariana Dias Ximenes 24 Timor Leste TLS DNF
AC Beáta Rakonczai 31 Hungary HUN DNF
AC Mamorallo Tjoka 23 Lesotho LES DNF
AC Magda Lewy-Boulet 35 United States USA DNF
AC Deena Drossin-Kastor 35 United States USA DNF