Galen Rupp wins bronze in Olympic marathon

In just the second marathon of his life, Galen Rupp hung with the best in the world to take home the bronze medal in the Olympic Marathon on Sunday morning in Rio de Janeiro.

Rupp crossed the line in 2:10:05, beating his winning time of 2:11:12 he ran at the US Olympic Trials back in February.

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the pre-race favorite, won in 2:08:44 while Feyisa Lelisa took the silver with a time of 2:09:54. Kipchoge won with ease and looked as if he had more left in the tank, which wasn't surprising considering he has a PR of 2:03:05 from the London Marathon earlier this year.

Rupp’s medal is the first in the men’s marathon for the US since Meb Keflezighi won the silver medal in Athens in 2004. The last time an American won the bronze in the men’s Olympic marathon was when Clarence DeMar did so in 1924.

Rupp ran a tactically sound race, hanging with the lead pack and tucking behind the top dogs, not wasting any energy. When Kipchoge pushed the pace, Rupp had the energy to answer and break away with him and Lelisa, securing his bronze medal as a result.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Rupp’s run to bronze: