The men’s marathon, the closing chapter to these Games, was dominated by Africans. Led by Gezahgne Abera, of Ethiopia, they won all three medals. Jon Brown, of Great Britain, finished fourth after an heroic run.
Brown had strong words at the finish, alleging that the widespread drug-testing by the International Olympic Committee was finally having an effect in weeding out the cheats. "This was the first marathon in which I have run where I felt there was an even playing field. It was possible for me to win the gold medal," he said.
Brown, 29, who does much of his training in the Canadian Rockies, with the chilling prospect of meeting black bears when he is out running in the mountains, was the one European to stay with Abera, his compatriot Tesfaye Tola and Eric Wainaina, of Kenya, when they broke away after 17 miles.
Brown said: ”Although I have had a lot of injuries, I felt very confident throughout the race. However, I had a bad patch with about six miles to go and held back to get rid of a stitch. Then I got going again.”
The race attracted probably the biggest crowd ever to see a marathon. Hundreds of thousands of people were often five-deep at the roadside, while people hung out of windows, stood on balconies or on their porches under the cloudless sky, which has been an almost constant feature of these Games. As the leading four runners approached the Olympic stadium, the crowds became even more dense.
Abera broke clear of Wainaina, who was third in the 1996 Olympic marathon, while Brown began to chase Tola in his determination to become the first Briton since Charlie Spedding in 1984 to take an Olympic medal. Abera kept ahead and finished about 350 metres clear of Brown, who in turn failed to catch Tola by seven seconds.
JOHN GOODBODY
The Times
