Ethiopia’s Tola takes men’s marathon gold
Gulf Times
Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola won the World Championship men’s marathon in dominant fashion yesterday as he forged powerfully clear around 34km to come home more than a minute ahead to take gold in a championship record two hours, 05.37 minutes.
• Kerley leads American men’s 100m sweep, Wang snatches long jump title, Gidey trumps Hassan, Fajdek claims fifth hammer title, shot put joy for Ealey
Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola won the World Championship men’s marathon in dominant fashion yesterday as he forged powerfully clear around 34km to come home more than a minute ahead to take gold in a championship record two hours, 05.37 minutes. Taking advantage of relatively cool conditions afforded by the 6.15am local start time, the 2017 silver medallist splintered the pack with a sustained acceleration and by 39km he was safely 46 seconds clear and continued to press all the way home. Over a minute back in 2:06.44, Mosinet Geremew made it an Ethiopian 1-2 for the second World Championship in a row with his second successive silver. Belgium’s Somalia-born Bashir Abdi matched his bronze from the Tokyo Olympics in 2:06.48, taking his country’s first medal in the event for men or women. All three men were inside Abel Kirui’s 2003 championship record of 2:06.54 in Paris, though championship Marathon time comparisons bear little scrutiny due to course differences. The early pace was brisk, but manageable, keeping a pack of over 30 together at halfway, but Ethiopian defending champion Lelisa Desisa wasn’t one of them as he fell off the back and eventually dropped out. American favourite and former University of Oregon runner Galen Rupp was next to slip back, much to the disappointment of the fans lining the three-lap course, which was also livened up by large numbers on bikes accompanying the runners. Tola, 30, made what turned out to be the decisive move soon after, escaping solo to almost immediately open a 12-second gap at 35km and splintering the pack on the back of a 2.44 minute kilometre. From then on, looking relaxed throughout, he steadily built the lead as the chasing group was reduced to three. He waved to the crowd over the last few hundred metres, enjoying the biggest win of his career. “It was a dream come true,” Tola said. “I learned from my mistake in 2017 (World Championships) and I made sure it did not happen again.” Geremew broke clear for second and Abdi was just behind him. Canada’s Cameron Levins delivered a late surge to take fourth in a national record of 2:07.09, with Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor, back racing after suffering a badly broken leg after being hit by a motorbike during a training run in 2020, finishing fifth. Kerley wins 100m gold Fred Kerley led an American clean sweep in the men’s 100m final at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday and Chase Ealey helped give home fans a night to remember with the first US victory in the women’s shot put. Kerley, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, timed his dip perfectly to clock 9.86 seconds and pip compatriots Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell in front of an underwhelming home crowd at Hayward Field. “It’s amazing to do it on home soil with the home crowd behind us. It’s a wonderful blessing to get a clean sweep,” said Kerley, who had run the fastest-ever World Championships heat on Friday with a scorching 9.79. Bracy edged Bromell for silver by two thousandths of a second after both ran 9.88. Another American, defending champion Christian Coleman, finished sixth. Despite having four runners in the final Bracy said getting three on the podium was easier said than done. “To say it is one thing, to do it is another. We knew it was very much possible,” he added. “It was about three guys getting on the same accord.” Italy’s Olympic 100m champion Lamont Jacobs, who has battled a thigh injury for several weeks, pulled out of the semi-finals earlier on Saturday. In the shot put, Ealey threw 20.49m with her opening attempt to win the US team’s first World Championships gold medal on home soil and deny China’s Gong Lijiao a third successive title. Olympic champion Gong came close with her fifth try, which fell just 10cm short, but had to settle for silver, while Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands clinched bronze. China did manage to win gold in the men’s long jump, Wang Jianan producing a last-round leap of 8.36m to snatch the title away from Tentoglou Miltiadis. In the morning session, Ethiopian world record holder Letesenbet Gidey beat Sifan Hassan to win the women’s 10,000m gold in 30:09.94, the fastest time of the year. Olympic and defending world champion Hassan, who has barely been seen on the track this year, ran out of gas in the final straight to finish fourth. In the men’s hammer throw, Poland’s Pawel Fajdek produced the best throw of the year to become only the second athlete to win five back-to-back world golds, after pole vaulter Sergey Bubka.
(From left) South Africa’s bronze-medallist Akani Simbine, USA’s gold-medallist Fred Kerley and USA’s silver-medallist Marvin Bracy cross the finish line in the men’s 100m final during the World Athletics Championships at the Hayward Field in Eugene. (AFP)