Galen Rupp wins bronze medal in marathon, cites 'Happy Gilmore'

It’s not every day that you hear an Olympic medalist credit Adam Sandler for anything.

Then again, it’s not every day that a runner tries what Galen Rupp did at these Olympics. After winning a silver medal in the 10,000 meters at the London Games, the 30-year-old American came to Rio with an ambitious plan to compete in both the 10,000 and the marathon eight days later.

And while his 10,000 encore on August 13 didn’t turn out that well — he finished fifth — his great experiment in the marathon turned out a lot better. Rupp won a bronze in Sunday’s men’s marathon in only the second marathon he’s ever run. (The first being the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon that he won in February.)

Afterward, Rupp credited the 1995 movie “Happy Gilmore” for the ability to see his better talent.

In that movie, Sandler plays a goon hockey player who discovers that he’s actually much better at golf than he is at hockey.

“I was watching Happy Gilmore the other day,” Rupp told NBC’s Lewis Johnson at the finish line. “He fights being a golfer for awhile, saying he’s a hockey player. I fought being a marathoner and wanted to run on the track, but maybe this is my best event.”

 

Rupp (right) stays near the lead. (Getty)

Rupp actually made a valiant run at the United States’ first marathon gold medal since 1972, but Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge proved to be just too much over the final five miles.

Kipchoge, considered the race favorite after a near-world record win at April’s London Marathon, pulled away from both Rupp and silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia around the 21-mile mark. He finished with a winning time of 2:08.44.

Rupp finished one minute and 21 seconds behind Kipchoge and 11 seconds behind Lilesa.

Rupp’s finish was the first medal for the United States in the marathon since Meb Keflezighi won silver at the 2004 Athens Games. It also capped a great showing by USA Track and Field at these Olympics.

	Rick Maese @RickMaese
Rupp's bronze means @usatf leaves Rio with 32 total medals, the largest American medal haul since the 1984 Olympics, where they won 40 7:41 AM - 21 Aug 2016

The bronze medal also provided a nice salve for the burn that Rupp felt after a disappointing finish in the 10K.

“I was emotionally pretty drained after that 10K,” Rupp told Johnson. “I was pretty disappointed after that. It was just a matter of collecting myself and giving myself a few days to grieve and be angry.”

Marathon runners were challenged by weather conditions all morning long. The start of the race was conducted in a downpour and while the rain soon went away, the humidity in Rio reached 94 percent on a day when temperatures were in the mid-70s.

Jared Ward of the United States finished sixth while Keflezighi battled the conditions all day to finish 33rd. At 41, Keflezighi became the oldest marathoner to run for the United States at the Olympics.