<P> The 26.2 miles ( 42.2 km ) journey began in Marathon . The top contenders all found themselves in a large leading group that held a modest pace through the half marathon . A few tried to surge ahead but the most successful was Vanderlei De Lima 's attack at 20k . Past 25k , Stefano Baldini raised the tempo taking seven others with him . Finally , the chase group had been whittled down to three : Stefano Baldini , Paul Tergat , and Mebrahtom Keflezighi . After 35k was passed , Tergat ( the world record holder ) cracked , leaving two runners to chase behind . Baldini then closed the gap to De Lima after the latter was attacked while dropping Keflezighi . Baldini moved into the lead and took it home for the gold medal in 2 : 10 : 55 . Keflezighi caught the fading De Lima as well to take the silver in 2 : 11 : 29 . Finishing at 2 : 12 : 11 , De Lima was able to hold off Jon Brown , beating him by 15 seconds for the bronze . </P>
<P> The 26.2 miles ( 42.2 km ) journey began in Marathon . The top contenders all found themselves in a large leading group that held a modest pace through the half marathon . A few tried to surge ahead but the most successful was Vanderlei De Lima 's attack at 20k . Past 25k , Stefano Baldini raised the tempo taking seven others with him . Finally , the chase group had been whittled down to three : Stefano Baldini , Paul Tergat , and Mebrahtom Keflezighi . After 35k was passed , Tergat ( the world record holder ) cracked , leaving two runners to chase behind . Baldini then closed the gap to De Lima after the latter was attacked while dropping Keflezighi . Baldini moved into the lead and took it home for the gold medal in 2 : 10 : 55 . Keflezighi caught the fading De Lima as well to take the silver in 2 : 11 : 29 . Finishing at 2 : 12 : 11 , De Lima was able to hold off Jon Brown , beating him by 15 seconds for the bronze . </P>
who won the marathon race in the 2004 athens olympics
who won the marathon race in the 2004 athens olympics
Stefano Baldini
Stefano Baldini