Ethiopia’s Tola storms to marathon victory

DPAEugene, Oregon (USA)A devastating burst from the 34th kilometre saw Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola shatter the men’s marathon field on Sunday and claim gold at the athletics world championships in Eugene, Oregon.The 30-year-old Tola ran with the lead group for 33 of the 42.1 kilometres of the race until he split a remarkable kilometre in just over 2 minutes 40 seconds.His pace barely slowed in the next couple of kilometres to leave the rest of the field chasing the minor medals, though he did he eased up slightly for the last few to claim the biggest title of his career in a championship record 2:05.35 hours.Tola’s compatriot Mosinet Geremew won the battle for silver, matching his finish from the 2019 worlds in Doha, more than a minute behind and Belgium’s Bashir Abdi repeated his 2020 Olympic bronze medal in third.Canada’s Cam Levins was fourth but smashed his personal best in lowering his own national record in 2:07.10.The course was three 14km loops in the Oregon town of Eugene and more than 10 were still in contention until Tola’s blast.Defending champion Lelisa Desisa was not among them having been dropped going into the last lap and American home favourite Galen Rupp, a two-time Olympic medallist, also faded before the medals were determined.Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the undisputed best men’s marathoner, did not enter the race and will next contest Berlin late September in a bid to further lower his world record 2:01.39.The women’s marathon at the worlds is Monday.