The marathon was invented for the 1896 Olympics, and has been contested at all Olympics since. Generally, in the Summer Olympics, the women's marathon marks the midway point of the games, while the men's marathon is the final event and is incorporated into the Closing Ceremonies. The distance of the marathon at the Olympics has varied in the early years, before being standardized at 42,195 m in 1924, the distance that was run at the 1908 Olympics. In other years, the distances have been:
Note: since 1992, athletes who ran only in preliminary rounds also received medals.
Note: since 1992, athletes who ran only in preliminary rounds also received medals.
