Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia dominated the men’s marathon competition at the World Championships on Sunday, breaking the course record with a time of 2 hours, 05.37 minutes after powerfully pulling ahead at the 34-kilometer mark.
The 2017 silver medalist splintered the pack with a sustained acceleration, and by 39 kilometers, he was safely 46 seconds ahead. He continued to press all the way home, taking advantage of the relatively cool conditions made possible by the 6.15 am local start time. With his second consecutive silver in 2:06.44, Mosinet Geremew gave Ethiopia its second consecutive 1-2 finish at the World Championship. Bashir Abdi, a Belgian who was born in Somalia, finished in 2:06.48 to match his Olympic bronze medal time and win his nation’s first medal in either the men’s or women’s competition.
Abel Kirui’s 2003 championship record of 2:06.54 in Paris was broken by all three men, albeit course differences make it difficult to compare championship marathon times. It was a dream come true, according to Tola. “I learned from my mistake in 2017 (World Championships) and I made sure it did not happen again.”Abdi was right behind Geremew as he made a break for a second. After breaking his leg severely in 2020 after being struck by a motorcycle during a training run, Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor returned to the competition and finished fifth. Canada’s Cameron Levins finished fourth in a time that set a new national record of 2:07.09.
