Who won the women’s marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics?

Jemima Sumgong won the women’s marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Sumgong represented Kenya and finished in 2:24:04, becoming Kenya’s first Olympic women’s marathon champion. She held off Bahrain’s Eunice Kirwa, who won silver, while Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia took bronze.

The race was held on 14 August 2016 and used a course beginning and ending in Rio de Janeiro’s Sambadrome. Rain affected the competition, but Sumgong maintained her position through the closing stages.

Sumgong’s Olympic title is distinct from the 2016 World Marathon Majors victories claimed by other leading Kenyan runners. She was later provisionally suspended after testing positive for EPO in 2017, but the Olympic result remains recorded in the historical results of the Games.