1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles - Men's Marathon

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Parent Category: Olympic Games (Athletics)
Category: 1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles - (Athletics)
Last Updated: 30 July 2016
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Host City: Los Angeles, United States Format: 42,195 metres (26 miles, 385 yards) point-to-point.
Date Started: August 12, 1984  
Date Finished: August 12, 1984  
(Competitors: 107; Countries: 60)  
    Venue(s): Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Overview by IAAF    1984_olympic_stadium.jpg
Hot (27 °C) but dry conditions were thought likely to make this a slow race to be won by de Castella ahead of Japan’s enigmatic Toshihiko Seko. A pack passed through 10Km in 31:15 and 20Km in 1:01:26 with the USA’s well regarded Alberto Salazar dropping back. Runners began to slip away, but 12 were still in contention at 30Km (1:33:02). Seko, Robleh and de Castella fell back just before 35Km, and Lopes moved away with 5Km to run. His 5Km split to 40Km (2:02:56) was 14:33, and he was now 22 seconds ahead. The oldest man to win the Olympic marathon, at 37, Lopes won by 35 seconds, with Treacy breaking away from Spedding just before the stadium.
       
Summary by Sports-reference.com      
The three top marathon runners between 1980 and 1984 were Australia's Rob de Castella, America's Alberto Salazar, and Japan's Toshihiko Seko. Salazar had won the New York Marathon in 1980, 1981, and 1982, and won Boston in 1981. His 1981 New York win in 2-08:12.7 appeared to be a world record but the course, on re-measurement, was found to be slightly short of the full marathon distance. That same year de Castella won Fukuoka in 2-08:18 and that time did become a world record for the marathon. He had also won the marathon at the first Athletics World Championships in 1983. Seko would have been a favorite in 1980, but Japan joined the American boycott of Moskva, and he could not run. In 1981 Seko won the Boston Marathon, and he had won four Fukuoka titles between 1979 and 1983.
The Olympic marathon course started at Santa Monica City College and ran thru Los Angeles, finishing at the LA Coliseum on the track. The race started at 5 PM and was run in warm sun throughout. Salazar, de Castella, and Seko all came to the starting line, but none of them figured among the leaders during the race. It was eventually won by the Portuguese Carlos Lopes. Lopes had been a top 10K track runner and in 1983 had won the International Cross-Country Championship at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. He had only once before finished a marathon, that in Rotterdam in 1983. In 1985, he would return to Rotterdam and set a world marathon best of 2-07:12. The other medalists were from the British Isles, with Ireland's John Treacy winning the silver medal and Britain's Charles Spedding the bronze. De Castella finished fifth, Seko 14th, and Salazar 15th.
 

Records

Standing records prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics
World Record  Robert de Castella (AUS) 2:08:18 December 6, 1981 Japan Fukuoka, Japan
Olympic Record  Waldemar Cierpinski (GDR) 2:09:55 July 31, 1976 Canada Montreal, Canada
Season Best  Jörg Peter (GDR) 2:09:14 July 21, 1984 East Germany East Berlin, East Germany
Broken records during the 1984 Summer Olympics
Olympic Record  Carlos Lopes (POR) 2:09:21 August 12, 1984 United States Los Angeles, United States
 
        Results        
 
Marathon Men     Final 12 August      
                 
Rank Mark     Athlete Country NOC Birth Date Records
1 2.09.21     Carlos Lopes Portugal POR 18 Feb 47  
2 2.09.56     John Treacy Ireland IRL 4 Jun 57  
3 2.09.58     Charlie Spedding Great Britain GBR 9 May 52  
4 2.10.55     Takeshi Soh Japan JPN 9 Jan 53  
5 2.11.09     Rob de Castella Australia AUS 27 Feb 57  
6 2.11.10     Juma Ikangaa Tanzania TAN 19 Jul 60  
7 2.11.28     Joseph Nzau Kenya KEN 14 Apr 50  
8 2.11.39     Djama Robleh Djibouti DJI 58  
9 2.12.20     Gerry Kiernan Ireland IRL 31 May 53  
10 2.12.57     Rod Dixon New Zealand NZL 13 Jul 50  
11 2.13.53     Pete Pfitzinger United States USA 29 Aug 57  
12 2.13.57     Hugh Jones Great Britain GBR 1 Nov 55  
13 2.14.00     Jorge Gonzalez Puerto Rico PUR 20 Dec 52  
14 2.14.13     Toshihiko Seko Japan JPN 15 Jul 56  
15 2.14.19     Alberto Salazar United States USA 7 Aug 58  
16 2.14.20     Mehmet Terzi Turkey TUR 5 May 55  
17 2.14.38     Shigeru Soh Japan JPN 9 Jan 53  
18 2.15.29     Ralf Salzmann West Germany FRG 6 Feb 55  
19 2.15.55     Henrik Jørgensen Denmark DEN 10 Oct 61  
20 2.15.59     Ahmed Salah Djibouti DJI 31 Dec 56  
21 2.16.25     Agapius Masong Tanzania TAN 12 Apr 60  
22 2.16.27     Gidamis Shahanga Tanzania TAN 4 Sep 57  
23 2.16.35     Eloy Schleder Brazil BRA 26 Jul 51  
24 2.17.07     Karel Lismont Belgium BEL 8 Mar 49  
25 2.17.10     Allan Zachariassen Denmark DEN 4 Nov 55  
26 2.17.38     Mihaíl Koúsis Greece GRE 10 Oct 53  
27 2.17.43     Pertti Tiainen Finland FIN 15 Nov 54  
28 2.17.52     Alain Lazare France FRA 23 Mar 52  
29 2.17.54     Vincent Ruguga Uganda UGA 12 Dec 59  
30 2.18.10     Armand Parmentier Belgium BEL 15 Feb 54  
31 2.19.09     Cesar Mercado Puerto Rico PUR 25 Oct 59  
32 2.19.11     Omar Cochine Djibouti DJI 54  
33 2.19.28     Øyvind Dahl Norway NOR 12 May 51  
34 2.19.44     Derek Froude New Zealand NZL 20 Apr 59  
35 2.20.12     Giovanni D'Aleo Italy ITA 1 Jul 59  
36 2.20.33     Jesús Herrera Mexico MEX 22 Mar 62  
37 2.20.56     Lee Hong-Yul South Korea KOR 15 Mar 61  
38 2.21.04     Juan Camacho Bolivia BOL 4 Jun 59  
39 2.21.08     Cor Vriend Netherlands NED 8 Nov 49  
40 2.21.09     Frans Ntaole Lesotho LES 8 Aug 50  
41 2.21.35     Johan Geirnaert Belgium BEL 9 Jan 51  
42 2.22.00     Jacques Boxberger France FRA 16 Apr 49  
43 2.22.38     Marco Marchei Italy ITA 2 Aug 54  
44 2.22.43     Art Boileau Canada CAN 9 Oct 57  
45 2.22.45     Samuel Hlawe Swaziland SWZ 21 Jul 52  
46 2.22.51     Baikhunta Manandhar Nepal NEP 24 Dec 52  
47 2.23.27     Ahmed Mohamed Ismail Somalia SOM 6 Jun 64  
48 2.23.33     Chae Song-Rak South Korea KOR 29 May 61  
49 2.24.13     Joseph Otieno Kenya KEN 19 May 58  
50 2.24.51     Dick Hooper Ireland IRL 26 Aug 56  
51 2.25.02     Derrick Adamson Jamaica JAM 24 Mar 58  
52 2.27.41     Marc Agosta Luxembourg LUX 7 May 48  
53 2.29.16     Claudio Caban Puerto Rico PUR 25 Aug 63  
54 2.29.20     Theleso Wilson Botswana BOT    
55 2.29.38     Bruno Lafranchi Switzerland SUI 19 Jul 55  
56 2.29.53     Chen Chang-Ming Chinese Taipei TPE    
56 2.29.53     Alejandro Silva Chile CHI 28 Jul 58  
58 2.30.57     Kim Won-Sick South Korea KOR 21 Jan 63  
59 2.31.18     Ruben Aguiar Argentina ARG 21 Jul 56  
60 2.31.34     Sabag Shemtov Israel ISR 13 Apr 59  
61 2.32.15     Vincent Rakabaele Lesotho LES 3 Sep 48  
62 2.32.51     Marios Kassianidis Cyprus CYP 16 Sep 54  
63 2.32.53     Arjun Pandit Nepal NEP 21 Jun 55  
64 2.33.30     Ismael Mahmoud Jordan JOR 1 Jan 61  
65 2.34.27     Alain Bordeleau Canada CAN 7 Oct 56  
66 2.36.36     Tau John Tokwepota Papua New Guinea PNG 25 Jun 56  
67 2.37.18     Patrick Nyambariro-Nhauro Zimbabwe ZIM 1 Aug 57  
68 2.37.19     Kimurgor Ngeny Kenya KEN 10 Jul 51  
69 2.38.10     Amira Prasad Yadav Nepal NEP 13 Jul 59  
70 2.41.26     Adolphe Ambowode Central African Republic CAF 13 Feb 58  
71 2.42.03     Carlos Avila Honduras HON 15 Sep 51  
72 2.43.05     Jules Randrianarivelo Madagascar MAD 28 Nov 56  
73 2.44.39     Ahmed Abdullahij Somalia SOM    
74 2.46.14     George Mambosasa Malawi MAW 31 Jan 64  
75 2.46.50     Marlon Williams United States Virgin Islands ISV 9 Sep 56  
76 2.48.12     Johnson Mbangiwa Botswana BOT 28 Feb 56  
77 2.49.39     Leonardo Illut Philippines PHI 21 Sep 56  
78 2.52.19     Dieudonne Lamothé Haiti HAI 29 Jul 54  
  DNF     Bigboy Matlapeng Botswana BOT 4 Feb 58  
  DNF     Masini Situ Kumbanza DR Congo COD 25 Dec 55  
  DNF     Mimely Twegbe Liberia LBR 9 Sep 63  
  DNF     Matthews Kambale Malawi MAW 27 Dec 52  
  DNF     Wilson Achia Uganda UGA 18 Jun 59  
  DNF     Tommy Lazarus Zimbabwe ZIM 15 Oct 62  
  DNF     Awad Shaban Al-Sameer Oman OMA 6 May 61  
  DNF     Ibrahim Al-Taher Qatar QAT 59  
  DNF     Ronald Lanzoni Costa Rica CRC 21 Aug 59  
  DNF     Miguel Angel Cruz Mexico MEX 29 Sep 54  
  DNF     Rodolfo Gómez Mexico MEX 30 Oct 50  
  DNF     Gerhard Hartmann Austria AUT 1 Dec 55  
  DNF     Filippos Filippou Cyprus CYP 25 Sep 56  
  DNF     Santiago de la Parte Spain ESP 18 Aug 48  
  DNF     Juan Carlos Traspaderne Spain ESP 2 Sep 56  
  DNF     Geoff Smith Great Britain GBR 24 Oct 53  
  DNF     Cor Lambregts Netherlands NED 4 Aug 58  
  DNF     Gerard Nijboer Netherlands NED 18 Aug 55  
  DNF     Stig Roar Husby Norway NOR 12 Sep 54  
  DNF     Cidalio Caetano Portugal POR 22 Jan 52  
  DNF     Delfim Moreira Portugal POR 11 Dec 55  
  DNF     Kjell-Erik Ståhl Sweden SWE 17 Feb 46  
  DNF     Tommy Persson Sweden SWE 23 Dec 54  
  DNF     Ahmet Altun Turkey TUR 25 Jan 58  
  DNF     Mehmet Yürdadön Turkey TUR 2 Jun 54  
  DNF     David Edge Canada CAN 12 Nov 54  
  DNF     John Tuttle United States USA 16 Oct 58  
  DNF     Omar Aguilar Chile CHI 1 Dec 59  
  DNF     Domingo Tibaduiza Colombia COL 22 Nov 49  
 
More Details by Marathoninfo
 
DATED WINNER MALE AGE STARTERS WITHDRAWALS
Sunday, August 12 at 5:00 p.m. Carlos Lopes (Portugal) 37 years 107 from 59 countries 29 (27.10%)
The boycott of the USSR and its satellites, announced May 8 in response to the 1980 games, eliminated immediately the double winner of the 1976 Olympics and 1980 Waldemar Cierpinski. That did not stop to see the most imposing squad since the creation of the Olympic jump. Among the favorites, Japanese Soh and Toshihiko who could not participate in the last Olympics (always the famous boycott), the Tanzanian Ikangaa, Australian Castella (2:08:18 in Fukuoka, and winner of four marathons he had participated before that of Los Angeles, including the world championships in Helsinki), American Salazar who won in New York in 2:09:41, the best time ever for a beginner. The downside is that he left many forces in events in which he participated before the Olympics, and so after 15km he was no longer among men head tenth km past in 31'09 "and led by Ikangaa and six African.

The thirtieth kilometer past in 1h33'02 ", nothing stood out again, it was not until the 35th that finally comes off a trio of Carlos Lopes Portuguese, Spedding the British and Irish Treacy. Having slowed down to take a cup of water, de Castella was irretrievably missed the boat. on the track of Stockholm, the Portuguese had contributed on July 2 at the world record fall of 10000m in 27'13 "with his enemy brother Fernando Mamede. Himself finished second in 27'17 ", second world performance of all time. Inspired by this incredible core speed in a marathon, small law and long slender legs bust, he stretched his incredibly large stride to a size of 1, 68m and found himself alone in the lead after the 37th km. from there, he can not be reached. Hosted by former winners of an Olympic marathon invited by the organizers, he finished in 2h09'21 ". None of his predecessors had never run so fast. No not had triumphed at an advanced age: 37 years, 5 months and 25 days.

His debut marathons were not very promising, two retirements caused by cramps in 1982 in New York, and in 1984 in Rotterdam, defeated de Castella in 1983 in Rotterdam, he won the Los Angeles Marathon so that we did not expect. It is still in Rotterdam the following year, he produced the new world record of 2:07:12, while confirming that it was not an accident. As for Alain Lazare and Jacky Boxberger they had broken with the tradition that every 28 years a French won the Olympic marathon. The first finished 28th in 2:17:52, Boxberger 42nd in 2:22 '. Carlos Lopes was a former shepherd in northern Portugal, his coach Moniz Pereira will shape (like his other colt Mamede) to get the best. Despite all his victory was unexpected as the second and third Treacy and Spedding, like what about an Olympic race, everything can be different !!