Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya and Galen Rupp of the United States compete during the men’s marathon. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya may have won the Olympic men’s marathon with a time of 2:08:44 seconds, but American Galen Rupp finished third in the race through Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning, claiming America’s first medal in the event since a silver in 2004 in Athens.
Rupp, a 30-year-old runner from Portland, Ore., was competing in only his second marathon. Rupp won a silver medal in the 10,000 meters in the London 2012 Games and finished fifth in the 10,000 in Rio last week.
Rupp's bronze means @usatf leaves Rio with 32 total medals, the largest American medal haul since the 1984 Olympics, where they won 40
— Rick Maese (@RickMaese) August 21, 2016
After his bronze medal, Rupp noted that he might have found a new favorite event.
“My training has gone great for the marathon. I was watching ‘Happy Gilmore’ the other day, and you know he fights being a golfer for a while, saying he’s a hockey player, and I fought being a marathoner and wanted to be on the track,” he told NBC. “Maybe this is my best event.”
Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia finished second.