Tamirat Tola, Sifan Hassan win in men’s and women’s categories. Both set new Olympic records

The 2024 Paris Olympics will be remembered for its two memorable marathons. Certainly therein, an unforgettable women’s marathon.

The men’s race was won by Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia in a new Olympic record of two hours, six minutes and 26 seconds (the previous Olympic record of 2:06:32 held by the late Kenyan athlete, Samuel Wanjiru was set in 2008). He was followed to the podium by Bashir Abdi of Belgium (2:06:47) and Benson Kipruto of Kenya (2:07:00). Tola who had come with the Ethiopian team as a reserve runner and subsequently replaced injured teammate Sesay Lemma, took a decisive lead past the 35 kilometres-mark. According to olympics.com, Tola is the fourth Ethiopian to win the men’s marathon title at the Olympic Games. For most fans of running, the biggest news coming out of the men’s marathon at Paris was possibly the failure of Kenyan legend Eliud Kipchoge to complete the race. He dropped out just after 30 kilometres following what appeared to be discomfort around the waist (it was later attributed to backpain). Olympics.com reported that the athlete, described often as the greatest marathoner ever, had told the website that he won’t be running at another Olympics. Paris was his last. As yet, Kipchoge is one of only three men to win the Olympic men’s marathon twice.

As the Kipchoge chapter appeared to fade in the men’s marathon, a similar imprint was opening up in the field of middle and long distance running for women. For many watching the Paris Olympic Games, the experienced Dutch middle-distance runner, Sifan Hassan, had seemed to disappoint winning bronze medals in the women’s 5000m and 10,000m events. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Sifan had won gold in the above said two disciplines plus a bronze in the 1500m to complete a unique triple. She is a former world champion in the 5000m and 10,000m besides being the owner of a basket of current and former records, including world records. Sifan made her debut in the women’s marathon only last year, in April 2023, when she won the year’s London Marathon in 2:18:33. That victory was despite stopping twice amidst the race to stretch her legs, during which time, she was left behind by the leading pack of runners.

On Sunday, August 11, Sifan, born in Ethiopia and currently representing the Netherlands, stuck to the leading pack of runners tenaciously in the final quarter of the marathon in Paris and eventually snatched victory from Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa with a track-like sprint to the finish. Not far from the finish line, Sifan even appeared to stumble as Tigst sought to deny her a chance to over-take on the inside and in doing so, almost crashed the Dutch athlete into the barricades. Sifan however stayed unrattled and forged ahead; she covered the 42 kilometre-distance in 2:22:55, a new Olympic record (the previous Olympic record of 2:23:07 held by Ethiopia’s Tiki Gelana was set in 2012). Tigst Assefa finished in 2:22:58 and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri in 2:23:10. With this victory, Sifan became the first woman to have won gold medals in the 5000m, 10,000m and the marathon. Not to mention – she has cemented her place as one of the all-time greats of women’s middle distance and long distance running with a repertoire of top-notch performances spanning 1500m to the 42 km-marathon. With marathon specialists around, Sifan’s greatness in that discipline may continue to be debated. What’s beyond dispute and totally deserving our admiration is the range of distances she is good at. One couldn’t immediately recall a matching name on the men’s side claiming similar breadth of competition and excellence.

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai)