MADRID, 10 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Ethiopian Tamirat Tola was crowned Olympic marathon champion at the Paris Olympic Games on Saturday, after covering the 42 kilometres and 195 metres of the race in a time of 2:06:26, a new Olympic record, ahead of Belgian Bashir Abdi and Kenyan Benson Kipruto, silver and bronze respectively.
In a day that was set to be the star duel between Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele and Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge – champion in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 – it was Tola who gave the surprise. Bekele was left behind from the first third of the race and crossed the finish line in 39th place, 5:58 behind the winner, but things went worse for the two-time Olympic champion in the event, who had to retire due to discomfort at kilometre 31.
Among the Spaniards, the best was Ibrahim Chakir, who finished in 34th place, 5:18 behind Tola. Yago Rojo was 46th, 6:17 behind, while Tariku Novales finished 68th, 19:24 behind.
In a truly leg-breaking day, Ugandan Victor Kiplangat, world champion in 2023, and Chinese Shaouhui Yang were among the first to take the lead of the pack before the arrival of the most difficult section of the day.
Ahead of them were 17 kilometres of ups and downs through residential neighbourhoods and the forests of the Hauts-de-Seine, with gradients of between 6% and 8% and a 600-metre wall of over 10%. Among the Spaniards, Novales paid the price, but the surprise came when Kipchoge, with possible hip problems, seemed to be falling behind.
Just before the start of the downhill, Tola took the lead and passed the half marathon in 1:04:51; Chakir, the first of the Spaniards, was one minute behind. As Versailles was reached, up to eight athletes were leading the race, including Tola, the American Conner Mantz and the Ethiopian Deresa Geleta – winner of this year’s Seville marathon.
Thus, after passing 25 kilometres, which the Japanese Akira Akasaki had led, the group broke away and left the pursuers behind. Tola regained the lead just before the big climb, 600 metres with a gradient of 14%, and on the descent, he began to break away.
He flew at kilometre 30, covering it in 1:31:12, with Geleta and the Tanzanian Alphonce Felix Simbu as his main rivals. Behind him, with just over ten kilometres to go, came the Belgian Bashir Abdi and the Kenyan Benson Kipruto; the Tanzanian dropped back, and with just three to go, Geleta was also left behind. The medals were decided.
Tola defended his lead of between 20 and 24 seconds over Abdi and Kipruto, who were fighting for silver, and crossed the finish line in a time of 2:06:26, an Olympic record. Abdi finished 21 seconds behind and took silver (2:06:47), while the bronze went to Kipruto, who crossed the finish line 34 seconds behind (2:07:00).