Tamirat Tola claims gold at World Athletics championship
Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola won the World Championship men’s marathon in dominant fashion on Sunday as he forged powerfully clear around 34km to come home more than a minute ahead of the rest to take gold in a championship record 2hrs, 05.37 minutes, The Reuters reported.
Analysts suggest the Ethiopian took advantage of a relatively cool conditions afforded by the 6.15 am local start time to sprint ahead of the pack with a sustained acceleration and by 39km he was safely 46 seconds clear and continued to press all the way home.
Over a minute back in 2:06.44, Mosinet Geremew made it an Ethiopian 1-2 for the second World Championship in a row with his second successive silver.
Belgium’s Somalia-born Bashir Abdi matched his bronze from the Tokyo Olympics in 2:06.48,taking his country’s first medal in the event for men or women.
All three men were inside Abel Kirui’s 2003 championship record of 2:06.54 in Paris, though championship marathon time comparisons bear little scrutiny due to course differences.
The early pace was brisk, but manageable, keeping a pack of over 30 together at halfway, but Ethiopia’s defending champion Lelisa Desisa wasn’t one of them as he fell off the back and eventually dropped out.
American’s favourite and former University of Oregon runner Galen Rupp was next to slip back, much to the disappointment of the fans lining the three-lap course, which was also livened up by large numbers on bikes accompanying the runners.
Tola, 30, made what turned out to be the decisive move soon after, escaping solo to almost immediately open a 12-second gap at 35km and splintering the pack on the back of a 2.44 minute kilometre.
“It was a dream come true,” Tola said. “I learned from my mistake in 2017 (World Championships) and I made sure it did not happen again, ” he told the media.
