Nearly two weeks of track and field action at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will end with the women’s marathon Aug. 11. The men will handle business a day prior.

The history of the now 26-mile road race at the Olympics dates back to the first modern Games in 1896, with the women’s version being added to the event list in 1984.

This year, the men’s marathon will get underway Saturday at 1 a.m. Eastern, and the women will get going Sunday at the same time.

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The Olympic marathon has inspired generations of long-distance runners and even led to the creation of other well-known variations, including the Boston Marathon, which debuted in 1897.

This year’s Olympic marathon will take the runner on a journey through the historic streets and neighborhoods of Paris and Versailles, across breathtaking landscapes, along the famed Seine River, past countless famous landmarks and into the record book.

The race will begin at the Hotel de Ville and end at the Esplanade de Invalides, the final resting place of Napoleon. Unlike other marathons, it’s not a series of repeated loops – it’s one big one.

The route will follow that of more than 7,000 Parisians who marched in protest (the Women’s March on Versailles in October 1789), leading to the ratification of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

The men’s marathon long has been the final event of the Summer Olympics, often with the medals being presented at the closing ceremony, but it’s time for more new traditions.

This year, the women will take center stage and close out the Olympics for the first time in history. The move is in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the first women’s marathon at the Olympics and a nod to the International Olympic Committee’s goal of gender equality at the 2024 Olympics.

The IOC introduced the hashtag #GenderEqualOlympics and set a goal of splitting the 10,500 athlete spots equally between men and women. Additionally, the daily schedule this year was designed to feature an equal number of men’s and women’s events each day.

The track and field competition at the 2024 Olympics began Aug. 1 and will end Aug. 11. 

Did You Know: There also is an annual Paris Marathon, which first was held in 1976, but it does not follow the same route the runners will experience during the Olympics.

More About The Olympic Marathon Route In 2024

The course for the marathon at the 2024 Olympics will take runners across a variety of landscapes and terrains, including three uphill stretches that actually are pretty steep. 

It’s not anything they haven’t seen before, though the climbs are a bit longer than others they’ve endured. They’ll see a maximum gradient of 13.5%.

The most notable climb will be a 600-meter challenge about 18 miles in that will see the athletes reach an average gradient of about 10.5%. 

In all, there will be more than 1,400 feet of elevation and, well, more than 1,400 feet of fast-paced descending. Handling all of the ups and downs along the way will be key for the athletes as they prepare for the flatter run into the finish line. 

Men’s Marathon At The 2024 Summer Olympics

Both marathons at the 2024 Olympics will include past champions, world champions, record holders, winners of other major marathons, up-and-coming stars – you name it.

Among the entrants on the men’s side will be two-time defending Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, who is one of seven men in history with more than one medal in the Olympic marathon and one of three with two golds. 

Kipchoge won the 2016 race in Rio de Janeiro in 2:08.44. He improved in Tokyo 2020, winning in 2:08.38. 

Now, he is 39 years old for this title defense. Can he become the first man in history to win the event three consecutive times?

Other top contenders in Paris will be fellow Kenyan Benson Kipruto, Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele and Tamirat Tola, Switzerland’s Tadesse Abraham and Team USA’s Connor Mantz and Clayton Young.

One athlete who will be missing from the competition is Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, who set the world record at the 2023 Chicago Marathon (2:00.35).

Kiptum’s was a favorite as the 2024 games approached, but he died in a car accident in February 2024.

Women’s Marathon At The 2024 Summer Olympics

The women’s marathon will be the final track and field event of the 2024 Olympics. As noted above, it’s a historic change for multiple reasons.

The reigning women’s champion is Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir, who got the job done in 2:27.20. 

Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia set the Olympic record of 2:23.07 with her win in London in 2012. 

Tigist Assefa owns the fastest time in history (2:11.53), run in 2023, and she is followed on the list by Sifan Hassan, the 2020 Olympic champion in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter events (2:13.44).

For Hassan, her trip to Paris will include another run at history, as she attempts the 5,000, 10,000 and marathon, all just a few days apart. 

On Aug. 5, she earned the bronze medal in the 5,000. The women’s 10,000-meter event is taking place Friday at 2:55 p.m. Eastern.

The field in the women’s marathon should provide the historic context for such an important finale to the Olympics. Along with Hassan, Jepchirchir is expected to be there to defend her title. Assefa will be present, too.

Other contenders include the winners of the 2022 and 2023 New York City Marathon, Sharon Lokedi and Hellen Obiri of Kenya. Obiri also won the Boston Marathon in 2023 and 2024.

Past world champion Rose Chelimo of Bahrain also is expected to be in the running.

The three Americans who secured places in the field were Fiona O’Keeffe, Emily Sisson and Dakotah Lindwurm – the top three finishers in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February, held separately from the rest of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June. 

Kenya tops the medal table in the women’s marathon at the Olympics with seven total medals, including two golds. Kenya, Japan and Ethiopia each have two wins. 

The United States is tied for third with three medals – one gold and two bronze. Joan Benoit won the inaugural race in Los Angeles in 1984. Deena Kastor earned the bronze medal in 2004, and Molly Seidel matched the feat at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

2024 Olympic Track And Field Schedule For Marathon

All Times Eastern

Aug 10

• 1 a.m.: Men's Marathon, Invalides

Aug. 11

• 1 a.m.: Women's Marathon

How To Watch The 2024 Paris Olympic Summer Games 

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