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Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola won the men’s marathon at the Paris Olympics on Saturday with a stunning solo performance, while Eliud Kipchoge’s bid for a third gold medal came to naught.
Tola won in 2:06:26, an Olympic record and 21 seconds faster than Belgium’s Bashir Abdi, whose silver medal was an improvement on his bronze three years ago at the coronavirus-affected Tokyo Games.
Kenyan Benson Kipruto, who has won the Tokyo, Boston and Chicago Marathons in recent years, finished third, 13 seconds behind.
“Thank you, Paris,” said Tola, the 2016 Olympic 10,000-meter bronze medalist who will turn 33 on Sunday.
“I am very happy today, I am the 2022 world champion and now I am the Olympic champion.
“This is the best day of my life. This is my goal.”
Tola was selected as a replacement for the injured Sisay Lemma, who won gold at the 2022 world championships in Eugene.
Most recently, he finished third in last year’s London Marathon and won the New York City Marathon in 2:04.58.
Former world record holder Kipchoge won gold medals at both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but the 39-year-old Kenyan withdrew late in the competition.
He dropped out of the race just after the 30km mark, by which time he was ranked 71st, more than eight minutes behind his group.
That ended his ambitious attempt for a third consecutive win.
In scenes witnessed by AFP journalists in the crowd, Kipchoge turned to fans and handed his shoes, bib number and socks to supporters, who were warmly welcomed.
Tora’s teammate Kenenisa Bekele, who won three Olympic gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m and five World Championships gold medals before entering the marathon, finished 39th in 2:12.24.
The 42-kilometer marathon, which starts in central Paris and ends at the Palace of Versailles, emulates a key moment in the French Revolution: the Women’s March on Versailles on October 5, 1789, which ultimately led King Louis XVI of France to agree to ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The route has an ascent of 436 meters and a descent of 438 meters. The maximum grade on this route is 13.5%.
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