The Men's marathon at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on August 29 in the streets of Athens, Greece where one hundred and one athletes from 59 nations competed.

The event was mired in controversy after the organisers rejected an appeal for Vanderlei de Lima to be awarded gold.

The top contenders all found themselves in a large leading group that held a modest pace through the half marathon.

Finally, the chase group had been whittled down to three: Stefano Baldini, Paul Tergat, and Mebrahtom Keflezighi.

Greek spectator Polyvios Kossivas helped de Lima free from Horan's grasp and back into his running.

Despite the fact that the incident had seriously hindered his chances of winning the gold or silver medal, he did not complain and graciously acknowledged the crowd's cheers in the home straight.

Returning runners from the 2000 marathon included silver medalist Erick Wainaina of Kenya and fourth-place finisher Jon Brown of Great Britain.

For the men's marathon, each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to three athletes that had run the race in 2:15:00 or faster during the qualification period.

The marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards was run over a point-to-point route through the streets of Athens.