This was published 1 year ago
Today in History - July 27: Olympian shocks world by running his first marathon ever
Czech runner Emil Zátopek claimed the Olympic gold medal in the first marathon he had ever run on July 27, 1952.
Zátopek had already won gold in the 5000m and 10,000m events, and decided he would give the longer event a try.
After running alongside world record-holder Jim Peters for the first 15km, Zátopek asked him about the pace of the race.
In an attempt to demoralise Zátopek, Peters replied he thought the pace was too slow.
Zátopek simply responded by running faster.
He finished the race two minutes ahead of the silver medallist and set an Olympic record by doing so.
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