Marathon, Men

The 1968 Olympic Games were held at Ciudad de México, which lies at an altitude of 2,240 metres, or 7,350 feet. The effect of high-altitude on athletic performance was known from previous competitions. In sprints and short-distance races, it produced record performances, but at distances, the thin air, with lesser oxygen content, impeded the athletes, and resulted in very slow competitions. No event in 1968 would be more affected by the altitude than the marathon.

The two-time defending champion, Abebe Bikila, was back and since he had grown up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at higher altitude than Mexico City, he should have been a favorite. But he was injured, having recently had an appendectomy and was running the race with a stress fracture. He would not finish. But his teammate, Mamo Wolde, had also grown up at that altitude and his track experience, which went back to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, made him a formidable contender.

The race began at 3 PM on the final day of track & field competition, on a warm (23° C. [73° F.]) and sunny day. The course was point-to-point, starting at the Plaza de la Constitución, known as the Zócala, and ending at the Stadio Olímpico. The pace was slow, the runners worried about the altitude, and thru 10 km., a large group of runners led the field. By 20 km. the lead was held by Belgium’s Gaston Roelants, 1964 gold medalist in the steeplechase, and Britain’s Tim Johnston, followed closely by four runners – Naftali Temu, who a week before had won the 10 km. on the track, Wolde, Jürgen Busch (GDR), and Turkey’s İsmail Akçay. Temu then pulled ahead by 25 km., but Mamo Wolde took the lead at 30 km. He eventually won by over three minutes from Japan’s Kenji Kimihara, making it three straight marathon gold medals for Ethiopia.