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Samuel Wanjiru pulled away over the final few kilometres to become the first Kenyan in the storied running history of that nation to win an Olympic marathon.

The 21-year-old negotiated the 42.15-kilometre course through Beijing streets in bright Sunday morning sunshine in an Olympic record of two hours six minutes 32 seconds.

This was just the third marathon for Wanjiru, who twice broke the world half-marathon record last year.

Two-time world champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco won silver in 2:07.16. Ethiopian Tsegay Kebede, winner of this year's Paris Marathon, took the bronze in 2:10.00.

Ethiopian Deriba Merga led much of the race but faded badly at the end to wind up fourth.

Wanjiru won the Fukuoka International Marathon in Japan last December and was runner-up at the London Marathon in April. He twice broke the world half-marathon record last year.

The crowd roared as Wanjiru entered the Bird's Nest stadium, and he responded by raising his left hand in acknowledgment, then clapped several times.

One lap later, just across the line, he kneeled and crossed himself several times. He had just broken the Olympic mark of 2:09.21 set by Carlos Lopes of Portugal in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

As Wanjiru was still on one knee, Gharib crossed the line for the silver.

The temperature was 24 C with 52 per cent humidity when the race began at 7:30 a.m. and it heated up steadily through the morning, reaching 30 C by the finish.

The lead pack began to separate through the first five kilometres. By the halfway mark, eight were grouped at the front, led by Eritrean Yonas Kifle.

By the 30-kilometre mark, the pack had dwindled to three — Wanjiru, Merga and Gharib.

Reigning world champion Luke Kibet of Kenya stayed with the leaders through the early stages but fell back and finally pulled out of the race shortly past the halfway mark. He later said he had a stomach problem.

World record holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia decided not to run the race because of concerns about Beijing's notorious air pollution. But after an overnight thunderstorm, a glorious blue sky greeted the final day of these Games.

The race began at the edge of Tiananmen Square then wound around the Temple of Heaven before turning northward toward the Olympic Green and the Bird's Nest, where colourful dancers, drummers and cyclists entertained the crowd as it awaited the runners.