Marathons: Men’s Sat 7am, Women’s Sun 7am, BBC1, 8am Eurosport 1 The men’s marathon is traditionally the final event of the Olympic Games, but this year in Paris they have delivered a switcheroo. The honour of closing the Games instead goes to the women’s marathon, which is a fitting expression of the progressive nature of these Games. It’s hard to believe, but women’s stamina was doubted and they had to fight for the right to run the 26 miles and 385 yards of the marathon.
It has only been an Olympic event for women since it was introduced at the Los Angeles Games in 1984. The gold was won back then, in two hours, 24 minutes and 52 seconds, by Joan Benoit Samuelson of the USA, who made an early break from the pack and ran alone for the next 20-odd miles to the finish. The choice of the route in Paris is significant.
Athletes will run this 40th-anniversary women’s Olympic marathon from the Hôtel de Ville in the heart of the city to Versailles and back, in a race that has serious history. It commemorates the Women’s March on Versailles of 5 October 1789, when thousands of women descended on the royal palace to bring the king back to the Tuileries. That day, Louis XVI finally agreed to ratify the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens.
It’s also a route posing serious physical challenges – by city marathon standards this one is distinctly lumpy, ascending 436 metres and descending slightly more; the steepest gradient a demanding 13.5 per c.