Dates August 9 Winning time 2:29:19.2 | Competitors 56 from 27 nations | |
Venue Start and finish at Olympiastadion | ||
The men's marathon event at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games took place August 9. The final was won by Son Kitei.
Contents
Marathon route
The marathon course started in the Olympic Stadium. After going around stadium, the starting field left the stadium through the Marathon Gate. The runners crossed the Maifeld and then turned right into the Angerburger Avenue. Shortly thereafter, it was then left into Glockenturmstraße and the first checkpoint after 4 km on the Havelchaussee. They went on the banks of the Havel along the Grunewald to the left side. The second checkpoint was 6 kilometers on Rupenhorn, at kilometer 8 of the third control point followed on Schildhorn. The Grunewaldturm was reached after 10 km, at the level of the island Lindwerder sending the runners southeast. At the end of Havelchaussee runners then turned left on the long, straight Avus. The course went on the race track to the Nordschleife, there returned to the rotor field and the previous route ran back to the Olympic Stadium. The athletes came through the Marathon Gate back to the stadium and then ran for about 150 meters to the finish line.
This route differs from the present-day Berlin Marathon.
Korean athletes
During the time of the competition, Korea was a colony of Japan, therefore Korean sportsmen competed as members of Japanese team and were using their Japanese names. The Korean names of Son Kitei and Nan Shōryū are Sohn Kee-chung and Nam Sung-yong respectively. After Sohn's victory, he bowed his head during the Japanese anthem at his medal ceremony and remarked that he was ashamed to compete for Japan, an occupying power, rather than an independent Korea.
Results
Key: DNF = Did not finish, OR = Olympic record