Tamirat Tola: Ethiopian claims marathon gold on torturous course as Eliud Kipchoge concedes Olympic title in Paris

A new Olympic champion was crowned in the men’s marathon for the first time since London 2012 as Tamirat Tola claimed gold on the streets of Paris.

The Ethiopian star – who settled for bronze at the Rio Games in 2016 – broke the Olympic record as he cruised over the finish line under the shadows of the Eiffel Tower in a time of 2:06:26, 21 seconds clear of second place.

Belgium’s Bashir Abdi improved on his third-place finish in Tokyo three years ago to claim the silver, while Kenya’s Benson Kipruto collected his maiden Olympic medal with bronze.

Team GB’s Emile Cairess chased Britain’s first marathon medal since 1984 – nearly 40 years to the day – but just ran out of steam as he finished 29 seconds shy of Kipruto in fourth with a time of 2:07:29.

Reining double champion Eliud Kipchoge, who won gold at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, conceded his Olympic title but looked healthy in the early stages.

The Kenyan superstar was bunched up in the leading pack that completed the opening 10km in just 30.59.

By the time the fastest group reached the halfway stage, 39-year-old Kipchoge began to struggle and fell well down the pecking order.

The legendary athlete was reduced to a walk on the extremely difficult course before eventually dropping out after 31km, as the athletes struggled to combat the various hilly climbs.

Cairess enjoyed the race of his life and as the leaders approached the 30km mark, slipped into second position behind Tola as he looked to end Britain’s painful wait for a marathon medal.

As the pack approached the brutal climbs heading into the last 10km – where experts say the race really starts – Tola had a strong hold on the lead and improved his advantage over the chasers to 18 seconds.

Deresa Geleta threatened his Ethiopian team-mate’s lead, while Belgium’s Abdi also battled for a medal, but Tola was comfortable at the front.

Cairess slipped to sixth with seven kilometres to race but was still in contention for a medal as he looked to close a four-second gap on the bronze medal position.

As Tola surged into the final stages of the race, it became a fight for the minor medals nearly 20 seconds behind the leader, as Kenya’s Kipruto joined the battle.

Kipruto, Geleta and Abdi emerged as the trio competing for a place on the podium, with Japan’s Akira Akasaki – who led in the leary stages – and Cairess dropping further behind and nearly out of sight.

A resurgent Abdi moved ahead of Kipruto and Geleta into the silver medal position, as the former watched the bronze medal slip away.

Abdi began to chase and test Tola’s resilience in the final few kilometres, but the Ethiopian looked totally locked in as he closed out an emphatic race with ease.

Abdi crossed the line in second place, 13s clear of Kipruto before Cairess stumbled over the line in fourth.