PARIS, AUG 10 — Ethiopian runner Tamirat Tola won the men’s marathon at the Paris Olympics on Saturday to end Kenya’s dominance of the race.
Tola finished in an Olympic record time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 26 seconds, with Belgium’s Bashir Abdi finishing 21 seconds behind and Benson Kipruto taking bronze for Kenya, 34 seconds back.
Tola looked back as he neared the line and had time to soak up the applause. Britain’s Emile Cairess placed fourth and even had enough energy for a sprint finish — of sorts — after 42 kilometers (26 miles) in the sun.
Two-time defending champion Eliud Kipchoge struggled throughout. He was more than eight minutes behind Tola at the 30-kilometer mark and did not finish.
The last non-Kenyan to win was Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich at the London Games in 2012.
The 39-year-old Kipchoge was looking to become the first man to win the race three times but stays stuck on two. Ethiopian Abebe Bikila won it consecutively in 1960 and 1964 and Waldemar Cierpinski did the same in 1976 and 1980 representing then-East Germany.
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Breaking from tradition, the men’s Olympic marathon was not held on the final day and instead the women will run on Sunday.
