Kenya and Ethiopia jostled it out for Olympic medals in the different marathons. Considered strong contenders, there was a constant competition between the two countries to outdo each other in the various competitions, resulting in great racing television.

Bernard Lagat, a Kenyan running under the U.S. flag, didn’t fare very well in his races, being pushed out by the Kenyans running for Kenya. Samuel Wanjiru made history when he won a gold in the Olympic marathon, a first for Kenya, and did it in an Olympic-record of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds. Jaouad Gharib of Morocco won the silver and Ethiopian Tsegay Kebede took the bronze.

Kenenisa Bekele had been trying to make a record by winning the marathon to add to his collection of gold, but was unable to keep up with the less experienced Wanjiru.

Here are the standings of the African countries in the Olympics (with their actual standings against other countries in parentheses):

1. (15) Kenya – 5 Gold, 5 Silver, 5 Bronze

2. (18) Ethiopia – 4 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze

3. (38) Zimbabwe – 1 Gold, 3 Silver

4. (52) Cameroon – 1 Gold

4. (52) Tunisia – 1 Gold

5. (61) Nigeria – 1 Silver, 3 Bronze

6. (65) Algeria – 1 Silver, 1 Bronze

7. (71) South Africa – 1 Silver

8. (71) Sudan – 1 Silver

9. (81) Egypt – 1Bronze

9. (81) Mauritius – 1 Bronze

9. (81) Togo – 1 Bronze

Congratulations to all the winners. It was a fine show and well-earned!