Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola dominated the men’s marathon in Paris, setting an Olympic record with a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 26 seconds.
This performance surpassed the previous record set by Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru in 2008 by six seconds.
Belgium’s Bashir Abdi finished second with a time of 2:06:47, upgrading his bronze medal from Tokyo 2021 to silver. Kenya’s Benson Kipruto took third place with a time of 2:07:00.
Team GB’s Emile Cairess, who had been in second place at the 30km mark, fell back to sixth before finishing strongly to overtake two competitors and secure fourth place with a time of 2:07:29.
“It was a good race. I tried to pace myself, be sensible, keep myself cool and just try to finish well,” said Cairess.
“I just didn’t want to leave anything on the course, give 100% to the race and have no regrets.”
However, there was disappointment for two-time defending champion Eliud Kipchoge who was unable to finish the race after struggling towards the back of the field.
The 39-year-old Kenyan, who was attempting to become the first three-time Olympic marathon winner, pulled out with just over 10km remaining.
Cairess’ British team-mates Phil Sesemann and Mahamed Mahamed finished 46th and 57th respectively.
Tola, a world champion in 2022, only entered the marathon two weeks ago after an injury to his Ethiopian team-mate Sisay Lemma.
The 32-year-old surged into the lead at the halfway stage and gradually extended his advantage as the Eiffel Tower came back into sight.
“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 [Lemma] had injuries, 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.”
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