2017 World Championships in Athletics – Men's marathon explained

Event:	Men's Marathon
Competition:	2017 World Championships
Venue:	Olympic Stadium
Dates:	6 August
Competitors:	98
Nations:	50
Win Value:	2:08.27
Gold:	Geoffrey Kirui
Goldnoc:	KEN
Silver:	Tamirat Tola
Silvernoc:	ETH
Bronzenoc:	TAN
Prev:	2015
Next:	2019

The men's marathon at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held on 6 August,^[1] starting and finishing on Tower Bridge.^[2]

Summary

The race started off with a tight pack running at a leisurely pace. 10 kilometres into the race, the British crowds were pleased to see Callum Hawkins in the lead, but there were 59 others in the lead pack. By 15 kilometres there were still 31 and by half way only another three had started to fall off the back. Then the racing began as a small group went off the front including the entire Kenyan team, a Kenyan Turkish transplant, two Ethiopians, two Eritreans, Alphonce Simbu from Tanzania and Hawkins. Of that group, Geoffrey Kirui, Tamirat Tola and Gideon Kipketer were pushing the pace as a three man pack. Kipketer faltered and it was a two man race with Simbu breaking off the front of the second pack. About 10 kilometres from the finish, Tola tried to break away. But the one breaking was Tola as Kirui came back and then set off on his own. Over the last seven kilometres, Kirui opened up almost a minute and half of daylight, comfortably crossing the line for the gold. Tola struggled to successfully hold off Simbu to keep silver while an inspired Hawkins picked up the pieces and finished a strong fourth just 26 seconds back.^[3]

Records

Before the competition records were as follows:^[4]

Record		Athlete		Date	Location
World	2:02:57	Dennis Kipruto Kimetto	Kenya	28 Sep 2014	Berlin, Germany
Championship	2:06:54	Abel Kirui	Kenya	22 Aug 2009	Berlin, Germany
World leading	2:03:58	Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich	Kenya	26 Feb 2017	Tokyo, Japan
African	2:02:57	Dennis Kipruto Kimetto	Kenya	28 Sep 2014	Berlin, Germany
Asian	2:06:16	Toshinari Takaoka	Japan	13 Oct 2002	Chicago, United States
NACAC	2:05:38	Khalid Khannouchi	United States	14 Apr 2002	London, Great Britain
South American	2:06:05	Ronaldo da Costa			Berlin, Germany
European	2:06:36	Benoit Zwierzchiewski	France	6 Apr 2003	Paris, France
Oceanian	2:07:51	Robert de Castella	Australia	21 Apr 1986	Boston, United States

No records were set at the competition.^[5]

Qualification standard

The standard to qualify automatically for entry was 2:19.00.^[6]

Results

The final took place on 6 August at 10:54. The results were as follows:^[7]

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
			2:08:27
			2:09:49
			2:09:51
			2:10:17
			2:10:56
			2:10:56
			2:12:07
			2:12:16
			2:12:19
10			2:12:41
11			2:13:29
12			2:14:05
13			2:14:22
14			2:14:29
15			2:15:08
16			2:15:14
17			2:15:22
18			2:15:34
19			2:15:36
20			2:16:00
21			2:16:14
22			2:16:21
23			2:16:28
24			2:16:34
25			2:16:37
26			2:16:54
27			2:17:01
28			2:17:13
29			2:17:36
30			2:17:50
31			2:17:59
32			2:18:12
33			2:18:37
34			2:18:42
35			2:18:51
36			2:18:54
37			2:19:45
38			2:20:05
39			2:20:06
40			2:20:41
41			2:21:22
42			2:21:22
43			2:21:24
44			2:21:39
45			2:21:44
46			2:21:48
47			2:21:52
48			2:21:55
49			2:22:10
50			2:22:19
51			2:22:20
52			2:22:53
53			2:23:28
54			2:23:47
55			2:24:08
56			2:24:24
57			2:24:28
58			2:25:03
59			2:25:08
60			2:25:14
61			2:25:45
62			2:26:37
63			2:27:33
64			2:29:06
65			2:29:52
66			2:33:12
67			2:33:42
68			2:33:42
69			2:41:39
70			2:41:50
71			2:42:27

Notes and References

Web site: Marathon Men − Timetable. IAAF. 31 July 2017.
https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitiondocuments/pdf/5151/AT-MAR-M-f----.SL2.pdf?v=-1525323540 Start list
Web site: World Championships 2017: Callum Hawkins fourth as Geoffrey Kirui wins marathon. 6 August 2017. BBC Sport. 9 August 2017.
Web site: Marathon Men − Records. IAAF. 31 July 2017.
Web site: Records Set - Final. IAAF. 14 August 2017.
Web site: Qualification System and Entry Standards. IAAF. 9 August 2017.
Web site: Marathon Men − Final − Results. IAAF. 9 Aug 2017.