Eliud Kipchoge Has 2 Olympic Marathon Golds. A Third Will Be Tough. (2024)

While most of the sports at the Paris Olympics are already complete, the marathons are still to come—and it should close out the Games in a big way. The course for the Paris Games is extremely hilly, and it will be unlike the World Marathon Majors that you’re used to seeing when the best marathon runners in the world compete.

American viewers will want to set an early alarm—or stay up late—to catch the Olympic marathon live. Both the men’s and women’s races will be very competitive, as the world’s best marathoners battle it out for what may be considered the most prestigious title in the sport.

The men will race on Saturday morning in Paris, with the women closing out the athletics program of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday.

The races will set off at 8 a.m. Paris time on Saturday and Sunday—which means if you’re watching from the U.S., it’s gonna be an early morning (or late night). The men’s race is scheduled for Saturday at 2 a.m. ET, and the women will set off on Sunday at 2 a.m. ET.

Those watching in the United States can see the races on the USA Network, with coverage starting at 2 a.m. It will also be available to watch on NBC’s Peaco*ck.

The top two most talked about athletes in the field, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia, are not necessarily the favorites to win Saturday. Instead, the favorite is Benson Kipruto of Kenya. The 33-year-old has been arguably the most consistent marathoner in the world since 2021. Kipruto won the 2021 Boston Marathon, the 2022 Chicago Marathon, and—this past spring—the 2024 Tokyo Marathon in 2:02:16, the fifth fastest time ever.

But Kipchoge is the two-time defending champion in the Olympic marathon, claiming gold in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021. He’s the GOAT. He’s run sub-2 hours*. He’s the most decorated men’s marathoner in history. The 39-year-old would love to claim another gold in what is possibly his final Olympic Games.

But Kipchoge has shown some signs of vulnerability in his last few races. After setting the then-world record at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, he placed sixth at the 2023 Boston Marathon, he won the 2023 Berlin Marathon, and then placed a career-worst 10th at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon. One impressive win and two performances that most would describe as disappointing for the once-unflappable legend.

Which version of Kipchoge will show up? Can Kipchoge channel the magic one last time? We’ll know the answer to these questions around 4 a.m. ET on Saturday.

Then there’s Bekele, arguably the GOAT on the track in the distance events, who made the jump to marathons a decade ago. He owns the third fastest marathon time in history from Berlin in 2019. He was second at the London Marathon earlier this year, running a masters world record in the process. He’s shown he can still compete at a high level at age 42, but will it be enough against this loaded field?

Uganda’s Victor Kiplangat may not have the name recognition of the other’s in this field, but he did win gold at the World Athletics Championships in the marathon last year in Budapest. He’s also an accomplished mountain runner, who will bode well for him on this course.

This field is deep, and others like Ethiopians Tamirat Tola (2023 New York City Marathon winner) and Deresa Geleta, and Kenyan Alexander Munyao will surely be in the mix for gold.

The American men—Conner Mantz, Clayton Young, and Leonard Korir—will look to join Meb Keflezighi (silver in 2004) and Galen Rupp (bronze in 2016) as Olympic marathon medalists from the U.S. this century.

The tragic death of Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum will loom over this race. Kiptum was 24 years old when he died in a car crash on February 11, 2024. Kiptum ran 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon in 2023 to break the world record in the marathon, previously held by Kipchoge.

The landscape of women’s marathoning has changed quite a bit in the three years since the Tokyo Olympics. The world record has been obliterated and the all-time top 10 list has seen plenty of newcomers. Now, very early in the morning on Sunday for viewers in the U.S., we will see what is perhaps the most competitive and hotly contested marathon in many years.

The defending Olympic champion, Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, is back to defend her title, but an explosion of talent has come to the forefront since her gold medal-winning performance in 2021. Still, the 30-year-old should be seen as one of the race’s top podium threats. Jepchirchir scored a number of big wins since Tokyo, including setting a new women’s only record for the marathon at the 2024 London Marathon.

As for the challengers, let’s start with the world record holder, Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia, who has run nearly two minutes faster in the marathon than any other woman in history. Assefa, 27, ran 2:11:53 at the Berlin Marathon in 2023 to crush Brigid Kosgei’s previous world record from 2019 (Kosgei will not race Sunday due to injury). Most recently, she was second to Jepchirchir at the 2024 London Marathon this past spring. Assefa has never run a global championship race, and that experience will be put to the test against this field.

The favorite may be Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, who has done a lot of winning since making the transition from the track to the roads after winning Olympic silver in the 5,000 meters in Tokyo in 2021. Obiri won the Boston Marathon in 2023 and 2024, as well as the New York City Marathon in 2023. She’s proven that she can handle difficult courses—and the Paris course will be very difficult.

We, of course, can’t forget about Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. Perhaps the most versatile distance runner of all time, Hassan will come in Sunday’s marathon with a number of races already under her legs. She won a bronze medal in the 5,000 meters on the track earlier this week, and is set to compete in the 10,000 meters later on Friday. The question remains how much energy she’ll have left, but she does have a 2:13:44 to her name—the second fastest marathon in history—from the 2023 Chicago Marathon, so don’t count her out.

Ethiopia’s Amane Beriso, owner of the fifth fastest marathon in history from the 2022 Valencia Marathon (2:14:58), should be a factor as well. She won gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championships marathon. Look for others, like Ethiopia’s Alemu Megertu, Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi, and Israel’s Lonah Salpeter to be in amongst the lead pack, as well.

The American women are longshots to get on the medal stand. Then again, so was Molly Seidel in 2021. Trials winner Fiona O’Keeffe, along with Emily Sisson and Dakotah Lindwurm—or maybe Jess McClain?—will toe the line Sunday hoping to shock the world. The path to the podium won’t be easy, but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility for the U.S. women.