Kenya's long wait over: Wanjiru wins marathon

Samuel Wanjiru breaks the tape - and the Olympic record - at marathon's end. (gary hershorn/Reuters)

BEIJING - Samuel Wanjiru already had made a name for himself in the heady world of Kenyan distance running. Now he's made history.

Wanjiru, 21, pulled away over the final few miles to become the first Kenyan to win an Olympic marathon - and he did it faster than anyone ever has.

Wanjiru negotiated the course through Beijing in bright morning sunshine in an Olympic-record 2 hours 6 minutes 32 seconds.

"In Kenya we have many medals," Wanjiru said, "but I'm glad I have this one."

It was just the third marathon for Wanjiru, who first set the world half-marathon record at age 18 three years ago, then broke it again last year.

Two-time world champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco won the silver in 2:07.16 and Ethiopian Tsegay Kebede, winner of this year's Paris Marathon, took the bronze in 2:10.00. Ethiopian Deriba Merga led much of the race but faded badly at the end and finished fourth.

The crowd roared as Wanjiru entered the Bird's Nest, and he responded by raising his left hand, then clapped several times.

Just across the line, Wanjiru kneeled and crossed himself several times. He had just broken the mark of 2:09.21 set by Portugal's Carlos Lopes in 1984.

"I had to push the pace to tire the other runners," Wanjiru said. "I had to push the pace because my body gets tired when I slow down."

Americans Dathan Ritzenhein and Ryan Hall finished ninth and 10th, respectively.

The previous night, 10,000 champ Kenenisa Bekele won the 5,000 meters in 86-degree heat to complete the rare distance double.

For millions in Africa, Bekele's the equivalent of what swimmer Michael Phelps is to Americans or what Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is to the Caribbean - albeit with a more subdued profile. He didn't even get all the attention in Ethiopia, sharing the spotlight with Tirunesh Dibaba, who won an unprecedented 5,000-10,000 women's Olympic double.

Bekele won the 5,000 in an Olympic-record 12 minutes 57.82 seconds, well under Said Aouita's mark of 13:05.59 that had stood since 1984.

He was joined on the medal stand by Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge (silver) and Edwin Cheryiyot Soi (bronze).

Unlike Bekele, Bernard Lagat did not live up to expectations. In his first Olympics competing for the United States, the native of Kenya failed to qualify for the 1,500 final. He followed that up with a ninth-place finish in the 5,000.

Lagat came in as the defending world champion in both events but hardly looked like the same runner who dominated in Japan last year or who won an Olympic silver for Kenya in 2004.

He wasn't. An aching left Achilles' tendon has been plaguing Lagat since about a week after the US Olympic trials, he said after yesterday's race.

Lagat, who said he also was nursing a viral infection, tried to keep up with the lead pack, but faded. Belgium's Tia Hellebaut won the women's high jump in an upset over Croatia's Blanka Vlasic. Hellebaut cleared 2.05 meters on her first attempt to win. World champ Vlasic, who came in unbeaten since June 2007, didn't miss at any heights until her first go at 2.05, which she cleared on her second attempt. She finished with silver.

Kenya extended its middle-distance domination with a golden double from Wilfred Bungei (1:44.65 in the men's 800) and Nancy Jebet Langat (4:00.23) in the women's 1,500.

In the javelin, Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway defended his title with an Olympic-record throw of 90.57 meters, beating Jan Zelezny's mark of 90.17 from the 2000 Games.