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Tamirat Tola claimed the win in the gruelling Olympic marathon in Paris, shattering the late Samuel Wanjiru's Olympic record as two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge failed to impress.
The trio of Benson Kipruto, Eliud Kipchoge and Alexander Mutiso descended on the tough course at the Paris Olympics with the main focus on representing the country well.
Kipchoge was hoping to become the first man to win three Olympic titles in the marathon but his dream ended after he was dropped from the leading pack about 20km into the race.
The race was eventually won by Tamirat Tola who smashed Samuel Wanjiru’s Olympic record. Tola clocked a stunning 2:06:26 with Belgium's Bashir Abdi finishing second in 2:06:47. Benson Kipruto, making his Olympic debut clocked a stunning 2:07:00 to cross the finish line.
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17:32 - 09.08.2024
Eliud Kipchoge begins quest for historic treble as Benson Kipruto & Alexander Mutiso also aim for gold
Kenya’s men’s marathon team of Eliud Kipchoge, Benson Kipruto and Alexander Mutiso will be seeking to win a fourth Olympics gold out of five when they hit the road on Saturday.
Meanwhile, passing the 5km mark, Uganda’s Victor Kiplagat led the pack with Eliud Kipchoge running in eighth place. Benson Kipruto was also among the top runners as they passed the 5km mark.
Alexander Mutiso, the reigning London Marathon champion was running far behind. As the athletes passed the 10km mark, Kipchoge had moved up to seventh place with Mutiso running closely behind him.
Kipruto, who was running from the front had moved to 22nd place, still in the leading pack. At the 10km mark, Kiplangat and Chinese marathoner Shaohui Yang were taking turns leading the pack.
The Ethiopian contingent of Kenenisa Bekele, Tamirat Tola and Deresa Geleta also looked comfortable passing the 10km mark.
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As the pack passed the 15km mark, Kipchoge looked poised running in seventh place with Italy’s Eyob Faniel having surged to the front. Kiplagat had been dropped to fourth place.
Munyao and Kipruto were now running in 11th and 19th places respectively. Geleta was the first Ethiopian in the mix, running in 13th place slightly behind Munyao. Legendary marathoner Bekele and former world champion Tola had been pushed back and were running in 37th and 21st places.
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08:44 - 08.08.2024
Paris 2024 Olympics: Benson Kipruto reveals two qualities he loves about Eliud Kipchoge ahead of marathon duel
Benson Kipruto hopes to triumph over his mentor Eliud Kipchoge at the Paris Olympics and has revealed two key things he admires about the marathon legend ahead of their clash.
As the athletes passed the 21km mark, Tola came from behind and took the lead with Belgium’s Bashir Abdi running in second place. Italy’s Eyob was fighting hard to make an impression by sticking with Tola.
At the 20km mark, Kipchoge had been dropped from the leading pack with Munyao and Kipruto stuck together and fighting hard to impress. During the race, Kipchoge was seen holding his hip as though in pain.
America’s Conner Mantz came from behind and stuck with Tola as they passed the 22km mark. Japan’s Akira Akasaki enjoyed leading the pack as they passed the 25km mark with Kipruto looking comfortable running in the lead group.
Passing the most gruelling part of the marathon, Tora looked comfortable as he ran up the hill. He became the first athlete to cross the 30km mark, having 12km to run before finishing the race. Great Britain’s Emille Cairess was running behind Tola as another Ethiopian, Geleta, came from behind to run in third place.
Kipruto was running in seventh place with Munyao running in 14th place. Two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge was running in 71st place. Passing the 35 km mark, Tola and Geleta were running in the first two slots with Bashir and Kipruto running in third and fourth place. The trio diligently chased Tola who was opening the gap.
At the final water stop, Bashir and Kipruto had dropped Geleta with Kipruto chasing the second-place spot. Bashir outsmarted Kipruto to maintain second place as Kipruto emerged Kenya's hero of the day, finishing third in the tough race.
Munyao could only afford a 21st-place finish, clocking 2:10:31 to cross the finish line. Kipchoge, going into the race as a pre-race favourite, failed to impress as he stopped at the 30km mark.
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