RunBlogRun’s comments: We at RunBlogRun do not believe that Tamirat Tolat got his moment of respect at the Paris Olympic Marathon. Many in the know spoke about Tamirat as a top Paris candidate after his CR win at NYC in November 2023. Ethopia’s selection process is a complete mess, but thank god, they finally picked Tamirat, who told this writer he was training for Paris in February 2024 at the RAK Half Marathon.
We first met Tamirat at the 2017 Dubai Marathon, which he won. (Tamirat’s brother and wife have also won the Dubai Marathon).
The course in Paris was terribly difficult, and Tola just dominated the race. Where will he show up next?
Americans Connor Mantz and Clayton Young went 8 and 9 superbly at the Paris Olympics Men’s Marathon.
This is the piece by Rich Sands on the Men’s Paris Marathon.
TOLA TRIUMPHS WITH OLYMPIC MARATHON RECORD
By Rich Sands, @sands
(c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
NOTE: This story was written remotely with the assistance of local reporting-ed.
(10-Aug) — When the Paris Olympic marathon course was unveiled two years ago, it was touted as “a challenge without precedent” due to a series of ominously steep hills. Tamirat Tola was up to the challenge. Named to Ethiopia’s team just two weeks ago as a replacement for Boston Marathon winner Sisay Lemma, the 32-year-old Tola made a bold move throughout brutal hills in the second half to run away from the field and take the gold medal, breaking the Olympic record in the process. Behind him, silver medalist Belgium’s Bashir Abdi ran onto the podium for the second straight Olympics, while Kenya’s Benson Kipruto took the bronze.
The race began — with 81 starters from 42 countries — at Hôtel de Ville, Paris’s city hall, with bright sun and temperatures at 62F/17C, but soon to climb. The course rolled through and past some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, and not long after cutting through the grounds of the Musée du Louvre, the pack hit the 5-K in a cautious 15:40, the runners no doubt wary of the challenges to come.
Americans Conner Mantz and Clayton Young were near the front of a large group that passed 10-K in 30:59. Italy’s Eyob Faniel then began a solo breakaway that would give him a 23-second lead at 15-K (45:38) right before the race‘s most giant hills. Two-time defending gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya soon lost contact and appeared uncomfortable, later revealing he experienced back pain. He would ultimately drop…
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