PARIS — Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola ran a tough race to claim gold in an Olympic-record time in a difficult men's marathon on Saturday that saw two-time reigning champion Eluid Kipchoge withdraw from the race with a back injury.
In a field packed with talent, Kipchoge was expected to struggle to defend his title. Legendary Ethiopian marathoner Haile Gebrselassie opened the race, but instead of welcoming Kipchoge at the finish line, he was there to congratulate his compatriot Tola, whom he inspired to take up the sport when he was 19.
“I'm happy today because I achieved my goal,” Tola said. “I prepared well. I trained hard to win. In my life, this is my greatest achievement.”
Tola, 32, finished the race in 2:06:26, breaking the previous Olympic record set at Beijing 2008, made all the more remarkable by the fact that she only came on as a substitute two weeks ago following an injury to teammate Sisay Lemma.
“Sisay told me that it was better for him to quit and for me to compete. He told me: 'You can do better than me in my condition'. It's thanks to him, this victory also belongs to him for giving me this opportunity,” Tola said.
Belgium's Bashir Abdi took silver and Kenya's Benson Kipruto bronze.
Tola's dominant display allowed him to pull away before the halfway mark and never let up.
His only previous Olympic medal was a bronze in the men's 10,000 metres at Rio 2016. It is also his second major marathon win after winning last year's New York City Marathon.
The marathon course began in front of Paris's city hall, the Hotel de Ville, and passed by landmarks such as the Palais Garnier opera house, Place Vendome, the Louvre museum, the Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles. It ended with a picturesque home stretch in the shadow of the 17th-century hospital, the Esplanade des Invalides.
The footrace had some Tour de France feel to it, with multiple steep climbs on a notoriously hilly course that was considered one of the toughest in Olympic history. The first climb took place around the 10-mile mark. A second hill a couple of miles later also had an impact, but it was the hill at the 18-mile mark that proved the toughest, with a gradient of 13.5% at one point.
One of the standout runners who struggled was Kipchoge. He is one of the greatest marathon runners of all time, but he had to endure a tough race that saw him nearly a minute behind the leaders at the halfway point and walking uphill at mile 18.
He retired from the race shortly after.
“Today was a tough day at the office. You can train for a long time, but one day can happen,” Kipchoge said. “It's like boxing. You can go to a training camp for five months and get knocked out in two seconds. But life will go on.
“This is my worst marathon. I've never given up on the race. That's life. Like a boxer, I've been knocked down, I've won, I've finished second, eighth, tenth, fifth… and now I'm not finished. That's life.”
Kipchoge added that the hills didn't affect him, it was the pain in his back after 12 miles that finally forced him to stop.
Asked if this was his last marathon, Kipchoge said: “I don't want to comment on what will happen tomorrow. I want to try to evolve; if I don't evolve, then I will do other things.”
“I don't know what the future holds for me. I'll think about it in the next three months. I still want to try to run some marathons.”
The development comes after one of the most difficult years of Kipchoge's career, after suffering significant online abuse following the death of fellow countryman Kelvin Kiptum. Kipchoge suffered sleepless nights for some time afterwards, leading to a 10th-place finish at the Tokyo Marathon in March, his worst result as a professional.
