Sumgong wins women’s Olympic marathon; protester removed

Bahrain has won a medal in the Olympic Games, now held in Rio de Janeiro, Barzil (Rio 2016).

African runners have now won two straight Olympic women’s marathons after the title was held by runners from Asia and Europe.

The London Marathon victor, who clocked a time of 2hr, 2mins, 4secs, also beat reigning world champion Mare Dibaba (Ethiopia) into third after the top three had broken away from the field for the final few kilometres of the race.

Bahrain claimed only their second medal in any sport when Kenyan-born Eunice Kirwa took silver, 9sec adrift of Sumgong, while defending world champion Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia claimed bronze, at 26sec.

Belarusian Volha Mazuronak, 27, shook up the pack halfway through, taking the lead and briefly pulling ahead of the lead group.

The last-place finisher was the first Cambodian to compete in the Olympic marathon.

Sumgong pulled away in the final stages of the race today in Rio and captured the gold medal.

Not only that, but the United States contingent took up a third of the top nine finishers themselves, an unprecedented result for American distance running. Amy Cragg, who won at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February, finished ninth.

It has indeed been a long and winding road to Rio for this 44-year-old who ran under three hours for the first time at the 2015 Valencia Marathon.

De Lima had to settle for bronze in Athens, but Sumgong collected gold after maintaining her cool and her focus in the heat.

Flanagan was 10th in the Olympic Marathon in London in 2012. The race was run under sunny skies, with temperatures approaching 80 degrees by the end of the race, with high humidity.

And on Monday morning, three United States runners, Emma Coburn, Colleen Quigley and Courtney Frerichs, will compete for medals in the final of the 3,000-meter steeplechase.