Who won the 1908 Olympic marathon in London?

Johnny Hayes won the 1908 Olympic marathon in London.

Hayes, representing the United States, won in 2 hours 55 minutes 18.4 seconds after the dramatic race was reshaped by the disqualification of Dorando Pietri. Pietri entered the stadium first but collapsed repeatedly and was assisted by officials, so he was disqualified; Hayes then became the official champion.

The 1908 course ran from Windsor Castle to the White City Stadium. Its distance of 26 miles 385 yards later became the standard marathon length, although the international distance was formally fixed after the Games.

Hayes’s victory helped popularize marathon running in the United States. Pietri received enormous public sympathy, and a rematch exhibition later took place in New York, where Hayes again defeated him.