marathon was instead held in Sapporo due to heat concerns in the host city. Often, the men's marathon medals are awarded at the closing ceremony. In 2020, both the men's and women's medals were presented. The Olympic records for the event are 2:06:32 hours for men, set by Samuel Wanjiru in 2008, and 2:23:07 hours for women, set by Tiki Gelana in 2012. The men's marathon world record has been improved several times at the Olympics: in 1908, 1920, and then at successive Olympics by Abebe Bikila in 1960 and 1964. Abebe Bikila, Waldemar Cierpinski, and Eliud Kipchoge are the only athletes to have won two Olympic gold medals in the marathon. No athlete has won more than two medals of any colour. Ethiopia have won the most gold medals in the event, with six, while Kenya has the greatest medal total with fifteen overall. Medal summary Men Multiple medalists Medals by country Women Multiple medalists Medals by country Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens and at the time were officially recognised as part of the Olympic Games series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon. At this event a men's marathon was held over 41.86 km and Canada's Billy Sherring won the competition. John Svanberg, the runner-up in the 1906 5-mile race, was also runner-up in the marathon. American William Frank was the bronze medalist. References Participation and athlete data Martin, David and Roger Glynn. 2000. The Olympic Marathon: The History and Drama of Sport's Most Challenging Event. Human Kinetics; Champaign, Illinois. Athletics Men's Marathon Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-12. Athletics Women's Marathon Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-12. Olympic record progressions Mallon, Bill (2012). TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2014-03-12. Specific External links IAAF marathon homepage Official Olympics website Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News Olympics Marathons Olympics