The Paris 2024 Olympic Marathon was simply exquisite to watch – both the men ’ s and women ’ s races had me riveted to my television screen – and took the Olympic marathon to a new standard on so many levels .

between them , they have over 80 athletes in the top 100 world rankings for the marathon – but the for the rest the selection is rarely in too much doubt .

While inclines require energy and power to climb , it ’ s the hammering of steep declines that cause the most muscle damage and often leave athletes incapable of maintaining pace on the flats . Few that saw her race in 2004 , will forget the vision of Paula Radcliffe , the World Record-holder sitting in agony on the pavement in Athens with only around 5km to go .

The Hills of Paris

Then came this year ’ s race . The Olympic Marathon has never had such a hard course , with the Tour of Paris amassing a massive 440 metres of climbing and descent over the 42.2km distance . This included a 2km climb on slopes that reached 16 %. Treadmills don ’ t generally even reach that sort of incline ! As a result , slower times were expected … and yet , both the men ’ s and women ’ s races delivered new Olympic Records !

Also , unlike most previous Olympic races , the winner was never really assured until the line . While Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia had certainly secured his win a few kilometres before the line in the men ’ s race , there was always a question over the other medals , and even concerns that athletes had moved too soon and would run out of steam . A day later , the women ’ s gold medal was decided by a sprint finish between Sifan Hassan ( Netherlands ) and Tigst Assefa ( Ethiopia ). This was riveting viewing for everybody watching .

The performances were amazing , and assessment of the results show that many athletes performed way better than their expectations , including four of our five South African athletes . Without question , this was a gathering of the best in the world from each country . There will always be controversy over the selections for Kenya and Ethiopia , because of the massive depth of these two countries –

The Paris Olympic Marathon had exciting racing , exuberant crowds of spectators , and some serious hills !

Times Tell a Story

Comparing the winning times of 2:06:26 ( men ) and 2:22:55 ( women ) to the World Records of 2:00:23 and 2:16:16 , the course was around 4.9 % and 5 % slower than the men ’ s and women ’ s record courses . With that as an indication of top level racing , we can be fairly certain that if it is applied to our own SA athletes ’ best marathon times , then anyone doing better than that did the nation proud . This is what it looks like for team SA , comparing an expected time around 5 % slower than their season best to their times posted in Paris :

+/ -5 % Slower

Paris Time

Paris Position

Elroy Gelant 2:08:56 2:08:56 2:15:21 2:09:07 11 th man Stephen Mokoka 2:06:52 2:09:52 2:13:12 2:10:59 27 th man Cian Oldknow 2:25:08 2:25:08 2:32:12 2:30:29 32 nd woman Irvette van Zyl 2:26:11 2:26:11 2:33:18 2:31:14 37 th woman Gerda Steyn 2:24:03 2:24:03 2:30:02 2:32:51 45 th woman

Only Gerda Steyn did not fall under the predicted time , but keep in mind that she was selected in full knowledge that her focus and ambition lay with Two Oceans and Comrades this year , and there were doubts in certain quarters that she would recover fully in time for Paris . I would be first to admit that I felt the course and conditions would suit Gerda , and was of the opinion that her internal desire and drive may have overcome the negatives of short recovery . Overall , our athletes cannot be faulted for their efforts , and they finished well above their current world rankings positions as well . Can anyone be asked for more ?

Effects of Technology ?

The fact that the finishing times were considerably faster than should have been expected on a hillier course than Athens , came as a surprise to many . The most logical conclusion is that this reflects the change in shoe technology which has reduced the muscle damage to legs from the downhill sections .

Let ’ s face it , the cameras were great in showing just how steep that downhill was after 30km . Even the world-class runners were leaning back in a breaking motion , which would have put massive eccentric load onto the muscles , yet when required to take the pace to another level on the flatter sections towards the finish , they were able to . That was not the case in Athens . Here , both winning times were around three minutes 30 seconds faster than Athens , and yet the ascent and descent were around 25 % greater . Logic would say they should have been 60 to 90 seconds slower , but it never happened .

This is not a negative , as some traditionalists would perhaps have us believe . The fact that the improvements were almost identical in men ’ s and women ’ s races should make us happy , as it shows that the technology has benefited athletes almost equally across the sport . And in my opinion , if there is one rule that encapsulates the spirit of sport , it is that there should be ‘ no unfair advantage .’ That seems to have been satisfied , and the shoe technology could perhaps be akin to the 1968 move to hold athletics events on a synthetic track , whereas all previous Olympics had been on cinder tracks .

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