The world’s best distance runners will race 26.2 miles through the streets of Rio on Sunday morning, fighting for the final three medals of track and field at the 2016 Olympics.
Olympics 2016, track and field schedule: Galen Rupp runs for a U.S. medal in the marathon
Eliud Kipchoge is expected to win, but the U.S. could get a medal in track and field’s final event.


Team USA’s best hope for a medal lies in Galen Rupp. The Olympic Trials champ in the marathon won silver in the London 10,000 meters. He was fifth in the 10,000 on August 13, so could be tired heading into Sunday’s marathon. It will only be his second attempt at the distance, but the U.S.‘s best distance runner could run well in the heat of Rio.
If he is able to medal, it would be the U.S.‘s first medal since Meb Keflezighi won silver in Athens in 2004. Keflezighi is racing for a medal, too. The 42-year-old made his fourth Olympic team this year. After missing the 2008 Games, Keflezighi finished fourth in London. He won the Boston Marathon in 2014, a year after the attacks at the finish line.
Jared Ward finished third at the U.S. Olympic Trials to round out the U.S. team, but it’s unlikely he will medal in Rio.
Eliud Kipchoge is the race favorite. He won the London Marathon in April in his final race at the distance before the Games in a near-world record time of 2:03:05. Kipchoge was a brilliant track runner before turning to the roads. He won bronze in the 5,000 meters in 2004 and won silver in 2008.
The event will be broadcast on NBC, and here’s how you can watch online:
All times Eastern
Schedule for Sunday, August 21
Track and field: Men’s marathon final
Time: 8:30 a.m. (Live stream)











