The Olympic Games Marathon races over the past few decades have all witnessed early break away attempts and the often unveiling of a new Olympic Marathon Champion of a less fancied winner.
Beijing was to prove no different for Romania's Constantina Tomescu Dita, as she attacked the field shortly before the halfway mark (21.1km) reached in 1:15:11. Dita is not foreign to the art of front running tactics and her rivals surely made an error in allowing her to gallop free on her unchallenged run to Gold.
In Chicago 2004, Dita scorned the idea that her front running tactics don't result in their just deserves and Beijing could not have been a greater platform to again underline her belief in such tactics. The 38 year old has probably gained another 4 years to her running career and we shouldn't be surprised if she appears in London, where Britain's Paula Radcliffe will again try to make amends in her attempt to win an elusive Olympic medal.
Dita covered the 2nd half in a superb 71:33 to record a winning time of 2:26:44 some 22 seconds clear of the rest of the field at the finish. The Romanian had the delight of being able to canter around the last lap of the track without the slightest hint of competition and saviour a memory that will no doubt last the rest of her life.
Behind Gold, the battle for the remaining medals was fierce and all the way to the line with Kenya's Catherine Ndereba; undoubtedly the women's greatest championship racer in history, taking silver ahead of pre-race favourite China's Zhou Chunxiu. Their finishing times were 2:27:06 and 2:27:07 respectively with Zhou initially seizing the 2nd from Ndereba before the Kenyan fought back to take silver over the final few strides.
For the first 2 finishers undoubted happiness and for Chunxia, winner in London 2007, the loss of Gold for an expectant nation seeking to top the Gold medal list ahead of the USA. Something they are achieving, by the way.
Onwards to the evening events
After the Russian's performance on Friday; where she ran a solo 9:15.17, the fastest time of the year at the time, we would not have been surprised if the final was a tactical affair and that Gold was around the neck of another recipient other than Galkina. However an opening kilometer of 2:58.63, her stall was set and with her next kilometer a shade over 3 minutes for 6:01.20 the rest of the field were left for dead when she again upped her tempo recording her closing kilometer in 2:57.61 for a sub 9 min performance.