Tamirat Tolawon takes gold as Kenyan Kipchoge falters

Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tolawon won the gold medal in the men’s marathon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Saturday, August 10, while Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge fell short of achieving his dream of a third consecutive Olympic crown.

Tolawon’s victory etched his name in history by becoming the first Ethiopian to win a gold medal in the men’s Olympic marathon in 24 years.

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Tolawon, who took the lead from the start, finished the race in 2:06:26. Belgium’s Bashir Abdi took the silver medal in 2:06:47, improving on the bronze he had won in Tokyo. Kenya’s Benson Kipruto won the bronze medal in 2:07:00.

Tolawon admitted that he felt shy and faced difficulties while climbing the hill, but he kept his composure to reach the finish line.

“My intention was just to keep up with the leaders and then after a while I decided to push on my own,” Tolawon said, as reported by RTE. “But I was scared and had difficulties going uphill. I felt confident after the 41st kilometre, when there was only one more to go. Until then, I looked back and was not sure.”

Tolawon, 32, won last year’s New York City Marathon with a course record.

He crossed the finish line cheered on by Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopia’s double Olympic 10,000m champion, whom he has cited as one of his inspirations for becoming a marathon runner.

By Dotun Omisakin

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