• Tamirat secures Ethiopia’s first gold of these Games

Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola surged ahead to win the men’s Olympic marathon in a record time of 2:06:26, securing Ethiopia’s first gold of these Games and continuing a proud national tradition.

In the Paris 2024 Olympics marathon, widely regarded as the most challenging in history with its 340 meters of elevation gain, according to L’Équipe, Tamirat Tola emerged as the strongest. He completed the grueling 42.195 km course—from the Hôtel de Ville to the Esplanade des Invalides, passing through the Palace of Versailles—in 2:06:26, surpassing the Olympic record by six seconds.

Tamirat closed the gap with Italy’s Eyob Faniel, who had led solo shortly after 10km. As the race settled following the initial climb, Tamirat surged ahead on the challenging Pavé des Gardes climb, 12 km from the finish. He extended his lead and was never caught by his rivals, who trailed about twenty seconds behind.

Tamirat secured the marathon gold at the World Championships in Eugene in 2022, earned an Olympic bronze in the 10,000 meters in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and claimed silver in the same event at the World Championships in London in 2017. Now, he has a shiny gold medal to crown his already stellar career.

“I am happy because I fulfilled my goal. I prepared well. I trained hard so I could win. In my life, this is my great achievement,” Tola said.

“I was the reserve in the Ethiopian team but when Sisay had injuries, I had a chance to represent him. I was fully prepared and knew I could fulfill my dream. I am happy to do that today.”

“The athlete paid tribute to his teammate Sisay Lemma, saying, “This victory is not just for me; it’s for Sisay as well. As his leg was hurting, so he encouraged me to participate, thinking I would achieve better results in his place. I’m very grateful to him for that.”

The Somalia-born Belgium’s Bashir Abdi, the European marathon record-holder, upgraded his 2021 bronze to a silver medal at the Olympics. Tokyo Marathon gold medalist, Kenyan Benson Kipruto, finished in third place. Another Ethiopian, Deresa Geleta, finished fifth with a time of 2:07:31. The two-time reigning Olympic champion, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, faltered in the Hauts-de-Seine and eventually withdrew. Meanwhile, legend Kenenisa Bekele trailed by 40 seconds after 20 km of racing, eventually finishing in 39th place. Widely considered the greatest marathon runner of all time, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge failed to finish the hilly Paris race. He was dropped in the first half but pushed on until 31 km before stepping off due to pain in his waist.

Ethiopia has now claimed five men’s marathon Olympic titles—more than any other nation—continuing a tradition established six decades ago by the legendary Abebe Bikila. Tamirat Tola joins the fabled list of fellow Ethiopians who have won this prized race: Abebe Bikila in 1960 and 1964, Mamo Wolde in 1968, and Gezahegne Abera in 2000.