Tamirat Tola from Ethiopia emerged the winner men’s marathon race of Paris Olympics on Saturday after defeating a Kenyan legend, Eliud Kipchoge who was attempting to win a third consecutive Olympic title. He completed the race in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 26 seconds which marked the first occasion that an Ethiopian athlete won the Olympic men’s marathon championship in twenty four years.
The silver medal at Tokyo Olympics goes to Belgium’s Bashir Abdi whereas Kenya’s Benson Kipruto gets bronze medal making it through to podium.
Tola took an early lead in the race and never let it go. The critical point for him was when he broke away from his leader in the first steep climb of hilly Paris circuit. With other athletes struggling especially on second mountain; it increased as time went on. At 35km mark, Tola was ahead by 18 seconds that widened as he approached Eiffel Tower where thousands lined up cheering before reaching victory line.
Eliud Kipchoge is widely regarded as one of history’s great marathoners, having previously won gold medals at both Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020 summer games. This is when he will win gold for another time at three back-to-back Olympiads.
It has been more than two decades since Ethiopian emerged victorious during the Olympics and Tola’s win represents such a significant milestone for athletic community of Ethiopia.
