GB’s Cairess fourth as Tola wins Olympic marathon

Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola dominated the men’s marathon in Paris to win in an Olympic record time as Team GB’s Emile Cairess finished fourth.

Tola stormed ahead to seal victory in two hours six minutes and 26 seconds, beating the previous record – set by Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru in 2008 – by six seconds.

Belgium’s Bashir Abdi (2:06.47) finished second to upgrade his bronze from Tokyo in 2021, while Benson Kipruto of Kenya (2:07:00) was third.

Cairess had been second at the 30km mark, but dropped back to sixth before finishing strongly to overhaul two rivals and claim fourth in 2:07.29.

“It was a good race. I tried to pace myself, be sensible, keep myself cool and just try to finish well,” said Cairess.

“I just didn’t want to leave anything on the course, give 100% to the race and have no regrets.”

However, there was disappointment for two-time defending champion Eliud Kipchoge who was unable to finish the race after struggling towards the back of the field.

The 39-year-old Kenyan, who was attempting to become the first three-time Olympic marathon winner, pulled out with just over 10km remaining.

Cairess’ British team-mates Phil Sesemann and Mahamed Mahamed finished 46th and 57th respectively.

Tola, a world champion in 2022, only entered the marathon two weeks ago after an injury to his Ethiopian team-mate Sisay Lemma.

The 32-year-old surged into the lead at the halfway stage and gradually extended his advantage as the Eiffel Tower came back into sight.

“I am happy because I fulfilled my goal. I prepared well. I trained hard so I could win. In my life, this is my great achievement,” Tola said.

“I was the reserve in the Ethiopian team but when Sisay [Lemma] had injuries, I had a chance to represent him. I was fully prepared and knew I could fulfil my dream. I am happy to do that today.”