| Final 17:30 | time | | 1. Abebe Bikila |  ETH | 2:15:16.2 WB | | 2. Rhadi Ben Abdesselem |  MAR | 2:15:41.6 | | 3. Barry Magee |  NZL | 2:17:18.2 | | 4. Konstantin Vorobyev |  URS | 2:19:09.6 | | 5. Sergey Popov | URS | 2:19:18.8 | | 6. Thyge Thogersen |  DEN | 2:21:03.4 | | 7. Abebe Wakgira | ETH | 2:21:09.4 | | 8. Bakir Ben Aissa | MAR | 2:21:21.4 | | 9. Osvaldo Suarez |  ARG | 2:21:26.6 | | 10.Franjo Skrinjar |  JUG | 2:21:40.2 | | 11.Nikolay Rumiancev | URS | 2:21:49.4 | | 12.Franjo Mihalic | JUG | 2:21:52.6 | | 13.Keith James |  SAF | 2:22:58.6 | | 14.Pavel Kantorek |  TCH | 2:22:59.8 | | 15.Gumersindo Gomez | ARG | 2:23:00.0 | | 16.Dennis O`Gorman |  GBR | 2:24:16.2 | | 17.Miguel Navarro Palos |  ESP | 2:24:17.4 | | 18.Jeff Julian | NZL | 2:24:50.6 | | 19.Johnny Kelley |  USA | 2:24:58.0 | | 20.Lee Chang-Sun |  COR | 2:25:02.2 | | 21.Arnold Vaide |  SWE | 2:25:02.2 | | 22.Gerald McIntyre |  IRL | 2:26:03.0 | | 23.Olavi Manninen |  FIN | 2:26:33.0 | | 24.Eino Oksanen | FIN | 2:26:38.0 | | 25.Arthur Keily | GBR | 2:27:00.0 | | 26.Tor Torgersen |  NOR | 2:27:30.0 | | 27.Naw Myitung |  BIR | 2:28:17.0 | | 28.Bruno Bartholome |  GER | 2:28:39.0 | | 29.Brian Kilby | GBR | 2:28:55.0 | | 30.Alex Breckenridge | USA | 2:29:38.0 | | 31.Kurao Hiroshima |  JPN | 2:29:40.0 | | 32.Kazumi Watanabe | JPN | 2:29:45.0 | | 33.Juan Silva |  CIL | 2:31:18.0 | | 34.Alain Mimoun |  FRA | 2:31:20.0 | | 35.Paul Geneve | FRA | 2:31:20.0 | | 36.Franciscus Kunen |  NED | 2:31:25.0 | | 37.Francesco Perrone |  ITA | 2:31:32.0 | | 38.Silvio De Florentis | ITA | 2:31:54.0 | | 39.Linus Diaz |  CEY | 2:32:12.0 | | 40.Nil Lal Chand |  IND | 2:32:13.0 | | 41.Johannes Lauridsen | DEN | 2:32:32.2 | | 42.William Dunne | IRL | 2:33:08.2 | | 43.Ian Sinfield |  AUS | 2:34:16.2 | | 44.Arthur Wittwer |  SUI | 2:34:42.2 | | 45.Jagmal Ragho | IND | 2:35:01.2 | | 46.Nobuyoshi Sadanaga | JPN | 2:35:11.2 | | 47.Ghil Lee-Sang | COR | 2:35:14.2 | | 48.Gordon McKenzie | USA | 2:35:16.2 | | 49.Dali Labidi |  TUN | 2:35:43.2 | | 50.Walter Lemos | ARG | 2:36:55.2 | | 51.Ray Pucket | NZL | 2:37:36.2 | | 52.Adolf Gruber |  AUT | 2:37:40.2 | | 53.Antti Viskari | FIN | 2:38:06.2 | | 54.Alan Lawrence | AUS | 2:38:46.2 | | 55.Gordon Dickson |  CAN | 2:38:46.2 | | 56.Lothar Beckert | GER | 2:40:10.2 | | 57.Gunther Havenstein | GER | 2:41:14.2 | | 58.Evert Nyberg | SWE | 2:42:59.2 | | 59.Kanuti Sunj |  KEN | 2:46:55.2 | | 60.Randhawa Bhatia | IND | 2:57:06.2 | | 61.Allah Saoudi | MAR | 2:59:41.2 | | 62.Alifu Massaquoi |  LIE | 3:43:18.2 | | -. Hedi Dhaoui | TUN | DNF | | -. Mouldi Essalhi | TUN | DNF | | -. Gerhard Hecker |  HUN | DNF | | -. Aurele van den Driessche |  BEL | DNF | | -. Kim Yon Bum | COR | DNF | | -. Bertie Messitt | IRL | DNF | | -. Vito di Terlizzi | ITA | DNF | | -. David Power | AUS | DNS | | -. Cyprian Tseriwa |  RHO | DNS | | -. Arere Anentia | KEN | DNS | | -. Constantin Grecescu |  ROM | DNS | | -. E. Ostbye | SWE | DNS | | -. T. Starzynski |  POL | DNS |
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| | | Finish: Stadio Olimpico 65,000. | | 68 competitors from 35 nations. |
The largest field in Olympic history set off at 17:30, the late start being
an attempt to miss the heat of the day. Rhadi, the International Cross
Country Champion, Bikila, Arthur Keily (GBR), and Aurele
Vandendriessche (BEL) were the early leaders, passing 5km in 15:35,
and 15km in 48:02. By 20km Rhadi and the barefoot Bikila were 26
seconds ahead of Vandendriessche in 1:02:39, and the Belgian retired
shortly afterwards.
The two leaders passed halfway in an unheard of 1:06:40. By 30km
(1:34:29) the two men were 2:23 clear of Magee and race favourite
Popov. At 40km they were still 1:26 ahead of Magee, who was now
1:46 clear of Vorobyov. Along the torchlit Appian way, Bikila opened
a 50m gap with a kilometre remaining, and he extended the lead to
150m by the finish at the Arch of Constantine – a wonderfully dramatic
setting for the close of an Olympic marathon. Bikila had beaten
Popov’s world best of 2:15:17 by less than a second. Bikila, an interna-
tional unknown, won the Ethiopian trials race at altitude in 2:21:23 a
month earlier by nine minutes, a prelude to the first ever gold medal for
Ethiopia.
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