RIO DE JANEIRO — The women’s Olympic marathon is underway. It started at the Sambódromo, Rio’s famed parade grounds used for Carnival, and will end there at about 11:50 a.m. local time, 10:50 a.m. Eastern.
Tirfi Tsegaye of Ethiopia has the fastest time this year among runners in the field — 2 hours 19 minutes 41 seconds. Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia, the reigning world champion, is among the favorites.
At the 17-mile mark, Shalane Flanagan of the United States was among seven runners in the lead pack. The other Americans in the field, Amy Cragg and Desiree Linden, had fallen slightly behind the leaders.