Running News Daily

Ethiopian Tamirat Tols wins the Olympic Marathon in Paris

The Ethiopian Tamirat Tols has dominated the streets of Paris this morning, with the Hotel des Invalides glinting in the background he crosses the line in an Olympic record time of 2:06.26 and takes in the adulation with his nation’s flag draped over his slight shoulders. What a run!

Belgium's Bashir Abdi took silver and Kenya's Benson Kipruto took bronze.

The marathon course began outside Paris' city hall, Hotel de Ville, and passed along sights such as Palais Garnier opera house, Place Vendome, the Louvre museum, the Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles. It ended with a scenic home straight in the shadow of the 17th-century hospital Esplanade des Invalides.

The race took on the air of the Tour de France at times, with multiple steep climbs amid a notably hilly course that was billed as one of the most difficult in Olympic history. The first climb took place around the 10-mile mark. A second hill a couple of miles later also had an impact, but it was the hill at the 18-mile mark that proved hardest, with a 13.5% incline at one point.

One of the notable runners who struggled was Kipchoge. He is one of the best marathon runners of all time, but he endured a tough race that even saw him almost a full minute behind the leaders at the halfway stage and reduced to walking up the hill at Mile 18.

He bowed out of the race soon after.

It comes after one of the most difficult years of Kipchoge's career after he suffered significant online abuse following the death of his compatriot Kelvin Kiptum. Kipchoge suffered sleepless nights for some time after, resulting in him finishing in 10th at the Tokyo marathon in March -- his worst-ever result as a professional.

The course did not phase Tola, though. He delivered a dominant display that saw him pull clear before the halfway mark and never let up.

Tola only previous Olympic medal was a bronze in the men's 10,000 metres at Rio 2016. It is also his second major marathon victory after winning last year's New York City marathon.