Ethiopian Tamirat Tola will defend his championship at the New York City Marathon in an attempt to become just the second athlete to win both the Olympic title and the five-borough major in the same year.
Tola claimed he was drawing inspiration from Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir who broke the tape in Manhattan after winning in Tokyo three years earlier. He established a new course record in New York last year. The athlete admitted: “I did actually speak with Peres when we ran together in London. She said to me that just as she won the Olympics and New York, that she believes that I can do the same thing as well.”
When Tola conquered the difficult Paris course earlier this month, he shattered the Olympic record– an incredible feat considering that he wasn’t even on the team at first. The 2022 world champion told reporters that the rugged New York course is ideal for him and that he has no concerns about adding the difficult race to his schedule so soon after the Games.
“I’ve been recovering well, and I’ve begun training a little bit. I trust the training that the coach gives me. New York is a course that I like,” he remarked.
In addition to Tola, Kenyan bronze medallist Hellen Obiri will be defending her title in the women’s division at the year’s final major.
A marathon, which spans 42.2 kilometers (26.2 miles), is a fairly difficult race to finish for every runner, let alone win. It is arguably the toughest running sport there is, as it challenges the runner’s mental and physical capacity, pushing their body beyond its limits and, in the process, strengthening their will.
And, according to Run Repeat’s research, the average marathon time around the globe is 4:29:53. To break it down by gender, it takes an average of 4:21:03 for men to complete a marathon and 4:48:45 for women.
However, last Sunday at the New York City Marathon, Tamirat Tola from Ethiopia finished the race in under half the average time, recording 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 58 seconds.
Tola, winner of the 2023 NYC marathon
Tola had been running marathons for a decade, with several titles to his name. But he recorded his best one yet last Sunday at the NYC marathon, which was described by USA Today as a race that had “26.2-mile five-borough trek through the city.”
The event drew around 50,000 runners, which was a tough barrier to break through if one happens to be located in the middle or even more so in the last portions of the crowd.
Nevertheless, the great number proved to be no match for Tola’s speed and stamina. It was around the half-the-marathon mark where the competition really began, as it was during this point that the leaders of the race began to separate themselves from the pack.
And leading that pack were Tola and his fellow compatriot, Jemal Yimer.
Proving that Tola had all the experience and training in the world, Tola accelerated towards the finish line, leaving the other runners in his wake and eventually breaking the tape at 2:04:58.
Yimer, on the other hand, lagged behind and finished ninth.
The runner-up, Albert Korir from Kenya, finished two minutes after Tola had broken the tape, recording 2:06:57. Two years prior, Koir was crowned the NYC Marathon winner.
And coming in third was Tola and Yimer’s fellow countryman, Shura Kitata.
Tola smashes Mutai’s NYC record
Coming into the marathon, Tola had no ambitions of smashing records and only had his eyes set on winning.
But as it stands, after the marathon, Tola ended up achieving both. With a time of 2:04:58, he is now the new record holder of the NYC marathon, replacing the 2011 record set by Geoffrey Mutai, 2:05:06.
NYC Marathon Men’s Results, as reported by the Bleacher Report:
1. Tamirat Tola (2:04:58)
2. Albert Korir (2:06:57)
3. Shura Kitata (2:07:11)
4. Abdi Nageeye (2:10:21)
5. Koen Naert (2:10:25)
The Boston Athletic Association announced that Kenyan Hellen Obiri will aim for a third consecutive Boston Marathon win in April, while Ethiopian Sisay Lemma will also defend his championship title in the fast men’s division.
Since her marathon debut in 2022, the 35-year-old Kenyan has dominated the distance event. Obiri has also won the New York race in 2023 and took home bronze in the Paris Olympics last year.
Obiri, who will be defending her Boston Marathon title, said: “Defending a win is never easy, and to win the Boston Marathon twice in a row was hard, but I am happy to have done it… On race day I will again push for the win and hope to make it three in a row.”
Obiri will be joined at the starting line by former champions Edna Kiplagat, also from Kenya, who has won twice, and Des Linden of the United States.
In an Instagram post, Obiri shared: “Back to the @bostonmarathon in April aiming for title #3”
Lemma is now deemed to be the fastest man in the competition with a personal best record of 2:01:48. He will now compete against a strong Kenyan group of athletes, including Chicago champion John Korir and two-time winner Evans Chebet.
Lemma declared: “I was very happy after winning the Boston Marathon last year, and in 2025 I know it will be an even bigger challenge to win again… I was not completely ready at the Valencia Marathon last December, but I will be 100 per cent ready next April because the Boston Marathon is a special event.”
The Boston Marathon’s 129th race is scheduled to be on April 21, 2025.
Famous Kenyan marathon winner Eliud Kipchoge has regretfully decided not to defend his title in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, citing personal grief as the reason for his decision. Two-time Olympic gold medallist Kipchoge voiced his sadness by saying,
“I was looking forward to winning my third successive title and competing at the Olympics has always been a great thing.” he quoted in athletics illustrated, Even though it is unfortunate that he is no longer with us, Kipchoge’s reputation as a great athlete lives on and inspires athletes everywhere.
This incredible athlete, who is 39 years old, has made a lasting impression on the Olympic arena. He has demonstrated his ability in long-distance running by winning the gold in the Rio Olympic Marathon in 2016 in 2:08:44 and then repeating the feat in the Tokyo Olympic Marathon in 2020 (2021), cutting even more time with a 2:08:38 finish.
He enhanced his Olympic record by winning silver and bronze in the 5000-meter competition at the Games in Beijing and Athens. He never stops motivating others and demonstrating his unwavering commitment to the game with every step.
Majors in Marathon Running
The legendary marathoner Eliud Kipchoge has won the coveted Marathon Majors eleven times. He set two world records and won five times in Berlin, demonstrating his unparalleled dominance in the sport. Even though Kelvin Kiptum broke records—his untimely death shocked the running community—the anticipated competition between Kipchoge and Kiptum for Olympic gold would have been an exciting highlight.
In addition to Berlin, Kipchoge claims four triumphs in London, Tokyo, and Chicago. Having ran 10 marathons under 2:05, 6 under 2:04:00, and twice under 2:02:00, he has broken records. Unquestionably one of the greatest marathoners in history, Kipchoge enjoyed 17 victories in his first 20 marathons and never finished slower than 2:04:05 in his six Berlin outings.
The legendary marathoner Eliud Kipchoge encountered an unforeseen obstacle in the Tokyo Marathon of 2024, placing 10th with a time of 2:06:50—his lowest finish to date. This unexpected result emphasizes the unpredictability of top competition while highlighting Kipchoge’s fortitude and unwavering pursuit of excellence in the face of overwhelming obstacles.
Winning a marathon can take a long time, even years, as it’s a sport that’s both extremely hard and humbling. But apparently, not for Hellen Obiri, who managed to win not just one but two marathons after just a year of starting.
Obiri’s sacrifices
However, for Obiri to get where she is right now, at the helm of the women’s marathon, she had to sacrifice the one thing that she treasured the most: time with her family.
Last year, Obiri decided to move to US to train under retired American athlete Dathan Ritzenhein. And although her body and mind had been in US soil, training day in and day out for the marathons, her heart stayed with her family, husband Tom and daughter Tania, back in Kenya.
In an interview with BBC Sports Africa, she admitted that it was a difficult challenge for her to be away from her family. She even recounted the time when her daughter had pleaded with her to come home, which had prompted her to think, “Why am I here and my baby’s crying there?”
“It was a challenge because you don’t have family in the US,” Obiri said.
Obiri’s first two marathons
Obiri’s journey, like that of so many other athletes, was paved with difficulties and shortcomings.
But this didn’t last long, as Obiri was a quick learner. In her first marathon last November, Obiri only finished sixth.
In her next marathon, the Boston Marathon which was held in April 2023, Obiri had become familiar with the sport a little too fast, which was, of course, a good thing. And now that her family has moved in with her in the US, this gave her all the boost she needed to win the race.
And she did just that. She won the race with a record of 2:21.38, an impressive feat considering that it was only her second time.
Obiri’s third marathon
Just over a year later, Obiri etched her name into the annals of marathon history. Not only did she take first place in an astonishing time of 2.27:23, but she became the first woman to win both the Boston Marathon and the New York Marathon in the same year since 1989, as per Olympics.com.
The World Athletics also posted a snippet of the moment she broke the tape at the end of the finish line, captioning it with, “Kenya’s@hellen_obiri storms to the @nycmarathon victory after a spine-tingling sprint 🔥That’s her second @WMMajors victory of the year as she already won the @bostonmarathon in April 🥵.
Eliud Kipchoge, a four-time record-holder and former world marathon record holder, recently announced that he will run the London Marathon in April.
The athlete will return to London for the first time since 2020. He was the Olympic marathon champion from 2016 to 2020 and maintains an unofficial world record as the only athlete to have completed a marathon distance in under two hours.
Kipchoge said: “I am excited to share that my next race will be the TCS London Marathon… It is a race that holds a very special place in my heart… After a good period of rest, I have returned to training with renewed energy and focus. I feel re-fuelled to give my very best in London.”
In a social media post, London Marathon stated: “THE GOAT RETURNS! 🐐 @kipchogeeliud, our historic four-time champion and the only human to run a sub two-hour marathon, will race the historic 45th edition of the TCS London Marathon on Sunday 27 April 2025. Welcome home, King! 👑”
The 40-year-old athlete from Kenya has won the World Marathon Majors series five times in a row. The World Marathon Majors series is the world’s top marathon competition with annual races held in Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.
He held the men’s marathon world record from 2018 to 2023 before being overtaken by fellow countryman Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon.
Hugh Brasher, London Marathon CEO, admitted: “Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest marathon runner of this or any other age.”
He added: “Indeed, you could make a compelling case that his incredible stretch of dominance in marathon racing for such a lengthy period makes him the greatest athlete we have ever seen… His four victories here in London is a record in the elite men’s category and, after five years away, it’s so exciting to be welcoming him back… for our historic 45th edition.”
Kipchoge will compete against Abdi Nageeye, the winner of the most recent New York City Marathon, Milkesa Mengesha, the defending Berlin Marathon champion, and Sabastian Sawe, who won his first marathon in Valencia last month.
