RIO DE JANEIRO — Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge won the men’s Olympic marathon with a dominating performance, running alone into the Sambadrome and finishing in two hours, eight minutes and 44 seconds on Sunday.
Ethiopia’s Feyisa Lilesa claimed the silver medal and American Galen Rupp took the bronze on a soggy course.
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Canadian Eric Gillis finished in 10th place, in a time of two hours, 12 minutes and 29 seconds. It was the fastest Olympic marathon performance for a Canadian since Jerome Drayton’s in the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal.
It was a big improvement for Gillis from his 22nd place finish in Beijing in 2008.
Reid Coolsaet was the second Canadian in the race. He finished in 23th place.
Kipchoge, 31, has now won seven of the eight marathons he has entered, including two London Marathon victories.
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In previous Olympic appearances, in 2004 and 2008, he had competed in the 5,000 metres before shifting his focus to the longer distance.
It marked the third straight time a Kenyan had claimed a spot on the Olympic podium, following silver and bronze performances in 2012 and a 2008 gold.
— With files from Global News
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