Kenya competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. Kenya won a total of 14 medals, 6 of them gold, its best ever performance at the Olympics.
The women's 200 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 19–21 August (final) at the Beijing National Stadium.
The men's marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 24 August at 7:30am in Beijing, ending in the Beijing National Stadium. It was the last time in Summer Olympics history that the start and/or finish of the men's marathon route was located inside the Olympic Stadium. Ninety-five athletes from 56 nations competed. The winner of the event was Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya, who set an Olympic record in the time of two hours, six minutes, and 32 seconds. It was Kenya's first victory in the men's marathon. Morocco won its first medal in the event since 1960, with Jaouad Gharib's silver. Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia took bronze.
The men's 800 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 20–23 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Fifty-eight athletes from 40 nations competed. The qualifying standards were 1:46.00 and 1:47.00. The final on 23 August resulted in a triumph for Kenyan runner Wilfred Bungei in an official time of 1:44.65, winning by 0.05 seconds. It was the first victory in the event for Kenya since 1992 and the third overall. Ismail Ahmed Ismail's silver medal was Sudan's first Olympic medal in any competition.
The women's 1500 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 21–23 August at the Beijing National Stadium.
The men's 1500 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 15–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Forty-eight athletes from 30 nations competed.
The women's 5000 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 19–22 August at the Beijing National Stadium.
The Men's 10,000 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on August 17 at the Beijing National Stadium. The winning margin was 1.60 seconds.
The women's 100 metres hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 17–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium.
The men's triple jump at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 18–21 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. Thirty-nine athletes from 26 nations competed. The event was won by Nelson Évora of Portugal, the nation's first medal and victory in the men's triple jump. Leevan Sands's bronze medal was the Bahamas' second bronze in the event, with the previous one in 1992.
The women's high jump at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 21–23 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium.
The women's long jump at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 19 and 22 August at the Beijing National Stadium.
The men's long jump at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 16 and 18 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. Thirty-eight athletes from 32 nations competed. The event was won by Irving Saladino of Panama, the nation's first Olympic gold medal in any event and its first medal the men's long jump. South Africa also won its first men's long jump medal, with Khotso Mokoena's silver. Ibrahim Camejo's bronze was Cuba's first medal in the event since 2000. This event marked the first time that an American did not classify to the final phase in a non-boycotted Olympic competition.
The women's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2008 Summer Olympics occurred on 15–17 August at the Beijing National Stadium, the first time this event had ever been held at the Olympics.
The men's shot put event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 15 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. Forty-four athletes from 34 nations competed. The event was won by Tomasz Majewski of Poland, the nation's first victory in the men's shot put since 1972. Christian Cantwell of the United States took silver, the seventh consecutive Games in which an American finished first or second.
The women's shot put event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 16 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium. The qualifying standards were 18.35 m and 17.20 m.
The men's discus throw event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 16–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Thirty-seven athletes from 29 nations competed. The event was won by Gerd Kanter of Estonia, the nation's first victory in the men's discus throw. Piotr Małachowski took silver to give Poland its first medal in the event. Lithuanian thrower Virgilijus Alekna's bronze made him the third man to win three medals in the sport, adding to his gold medals from 2000 and 2004.
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad is a retired French professional middle-distance runner of Algerian descent who mainly competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is the only man to win three Olympic steeplechase medals, claiming silver in 2008 and 2012 and bronze in 2016. He also won two bronze medals at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 2011 and 2013. Mekhissi-Benabbad earned titles at five consecutive editions of the European Athletics Championships between 2010 and 2018.
The men's 800 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, was held at the Olympic Stadium on 6–9 August. Fifty-five athletes from 43 nations competed. The event was won by 0.82 seconds by David Rudisha of Kenya, the second consecutive and fourth overall title for Kenya in the event. Rudisha would later become the fourth man to successfully defend his Olympic 800 metres title, and the 11th to win two medals of any kind in the event. Nijel Amos' silver medal was the first Olympic medal ever for Botswana. Timothy Kitum of Kenya won the bronze medal.
Kenya competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's thirteenth appearance at the Olympics, they did not participate in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the African and United States boycott.
