Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon
The men's marathon at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 7 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The race started and finished there, with 28 runners from 14 nations competing after the limit was reduced to three athletes per country.
Gold went to Juan Carlos Zabala of Argentina, the nation’s first Olympic marathon medal. Sam Ferris of Great Britain won silver, giving Britain its first Olympic marathon medal, and Armas Toivonen of Finland took bronze, marking Finland’s fourth straight marathon podium appearance.
This was the ninth Olympic marathon. The course covered the standard marathon distance of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards) on a loop around Los Angeles, starting and finishing at the Coliseum.
Context and notes:
- Returning runners from 1928 included notable competitors such as Sam Ferris.
- Paavo Nurmi, the Finnish favorite, was suspended days before the Games over amateurism rules, and Finland broke athletic ties with Sweden in protest.
- Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia competed in the Olympic marathon for the first time.
- The United States made its ninth appearance, the only nation to have competed in every Olympic marathon up to that point.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:13 (CET).