Paris Olympics: Ethiopia’s Tola bags men’s marathon gold with record timing; Kipchoge doesn’t finish

Paris: Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola won the gold medal in the men’s marathon event at the 2024 Games here on Saturday with a new Olympic record timing of 2:06:26. Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, who was eyeing an unprecedented third consecutive top finish at the Olympics, failed to finish the marathon.

Belgium’s Bashir Abdi won the silver medal and went a step ahead of his bronze medal at Tokyo, while Kenya’s Benson Kipruto bagged the bronze medal.

Tola had entered the ongoing quadrennial event as a substitute after team-mate Sisay Lemma was injured and has now gone to be an Olympics gold medallist. He has now become the fourth runner from Ethiopia to win the men’s marathon at the Olympic Games.

“I was the reserve in the Ethiopian team, but when Sisay had injuries, then I had a chance to represent him. I was fully prepared and knew I could fulfil my dream. I am happy to do that today. I am very proud, very happy,” said Tola to Olympics.com.

The men’s marathon began at the historic Hotel de Ville and passed through famous landmarks like the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles before finishing at the iconic Invalides monument. The course tested the runners thoroughly due to its challenging terrain, which included a gruelling climb and a steep descent.

Tola positioned himself strategically, biding his time before making a decisive move to break away after 35 kilometres and eventually reaching the finish line first.

Bronze medal-winner Kipruto dedicated his achievement to his countryman Kelvin Kiptum, the marathon world record holder who tragically died in a car accident earlier this year in February.

For the legendary runner Kipchoge, it was a bad day at the office as he fell behind early and ultimately did not finish the race. He had to drop out of the marathon just around the 30km mark after an hour and about 40 seconds of running, citing discomfort around his waist. He said to Olympics.com that this was the end of his Olympics marathon career.

“It is a difficult time for me. This is my worst marathon. I have never done a DNF (did not finish). That’s life. Like a boxer, I have been knocked down, I have won, I have come second, eighth, 10th, fifth – now I did not finish. That’s life.”

“You will see me differently, maybe giving people motivation, but I will not run. I don’t know what next. I need to go back (home), sit down, and try to figure out my 21 years of running at a high level. I need to evolve and feature in other things.”

–IANS