Why are women's marathon winners being awarded their medals at the Paris Olympics closing ceremony? All about the IOC's historical decision

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Aug 10, 2024 17:30 GMT

The Women's Marathon event finals are all set to take place on the last day of the Paris Olympics (August 11) and the winners of the event will be presented their medals in the closing ceremony of the event, scheduled to be held at 3 PM ET on Sunday, August 12.

This decision from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to schedule the Women's Marathon medal presentation during the closing ceremony comes after a historic feat that was achieved in this edition.

None of the past Olympic events had achieved male-female equal parity, until the Games this year. The 2024 Paris Olympics saw 5250 male and female participants compete in the French capital. To highlight this achievement and celebrate female participation, the IOC made this historic decision.

Before the 33rd edition of the Olympics in Paris, the Men's Marathon finals in the Olympics were traditionally held on the day of the closing ceremony, while the women's marathons took place a day before the ceremony.

The winners of the men's marathon were consequently handed their medals during the closing ceremony to have one concluding event through which the sporting festival can end. The 2024 Paris event will be the first-ever quadrennial event that will feature the men's and women's marathons outside their traditional schedule.

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How many US marathoners are competing in the Women's Marathon finals of the Paris Olympics 2024?

Fiona O'Keefe, Emily Sisson, and Dakotah Lindwurm (IMAGE: Getty)

The Women's Marathon finals on Sunday (August 11) will feature three United States marathoners competing for a place on the podium. Fiona O'Keefe will be leading the charge for the US after her top-podium finish at the Track and Field Olympic trials in June. She registered a run time of 2:22:10 in the event to qualify for the first Olympics of her career.

2022 Chicago Marathon silver medalist, Emily Sisson, will also be one of the top American marathoners running in the event finals. Sisson finished just behind Fiona O'Keefe at the trials after clocking a run time of 2:22:42. This will be the second Olympic appearance for Sisson after the Tokyo Olympics, where she finished 10th over the 10,000m distance event.

Dakotah Lindwurm will be the third marathoner for the United States at the Olympics, having qualified for the event following a third-place finish at the trails (run time of 2:25:31).