John Maeke was 26 years old at the time of these Olympics, and was making his only Olympic appearance. On 23 September, he took part in the first round of the Men's 10,000 metres, being drawn into heat two. He finished the race in a time of 35 minutes and 16.93 seconds, which was 22nd in the heat. As only the top eight in each heat, plus the next four fastest overall could advance to the finals, Maeke was eliminated. On 2 October, he failed to finish the men's marathon