Tokyo Olympics: Zane Robertson 'OK' after collapsing over marathon finish line

Zane Robertson stumbled and collapsed after crossing the finish line in a brutal men's Olympic marathon on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Kiwi, who finished a respectable 36th, was one of a bunch of athletes who required medical assistance after finishing the energy-sapping 42.2km race in hot and humid conditions.

An Athletics New Zealand spokesperson on Sunday afternoon confirmed Robertson was OK, and was “up and walking out of medical”.

Robertson clocked 2hr 17min 4sec, 8min 26sec behind Kenyan winner Eliud Kipchoge, before he was taken away in a wheelchair. Fellow Kiwi Malcolm Hicks was 64th in 2hr 23min 12sec.

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On a day the event chewed up and spat out a raft of quality runners in sticky conditions in Sapporo, New Zealand record holder Robertson can hold his head high on what was a remarkable day for Kipchoge.

World record holder (2hr 1min 39sec) Kipchoge became the third man to win back-to-back Olympic marathons, and the first in 41 years, after crossing the line in 2hr 8min 38sec.

He made his move with about 12km to go, pulling clear of fellow Kenyans Lawrence Cherono and Amos Kipruto and never looking back.

To think there was almost 30 runners, including Robertson, hanging on in the group he headed at the 25km mark.

The difference was few looked as comfortable as him, and it was always going to be a case of not if he put the foot down, but when.

Kipchoge broke the chasers when he clocked 14min 28sec for the 30-35km split. In comparison, the previous 5km splits were 15min 7sec and 15min 36sec.

Robertson was one of the first to drift off the pack, which more than halved in the space of a couple of kilometres.

However, unlike others, the man who has spent years living and training in Kenya, dug in and completed the race.

A spent Kipruto bailed with 5km to run, and there were other big names on the casualty list, starting with Ethiopian Shura Kitata, who hobbled off with a hamstring issue after just 9km.

Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich, the 2012 Olympic champion, never looked comfortable and was one of six gone within the first 15km.

The highly rated Sisay Lemma and Lelisa Desisa joined Kitata in failing to finish, making it a forgettable day for the Ethiopians, while a dazed Daniel Do Nascimento (Brazil) stumbled out of the race as the heat knocked out another runner.

Ten athletes were toast within 19km. When all was said and done, 30 of the 105 starters did not cross the finish line.

AT A GLANCE

Gold: Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) 2.08.38

Silver: Abdi Nageeye (Netherlands) 2.09.58

Bronze: Bashir Abdi (Belgium) 2.10.00