NYRR Media Center

Tamirat Tola broke a 12-year-old course record at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, pulling away from the field in the final six miles to win in 2:04:58. It marked his first victory at an Abbott World Marathon Majors event and was his first podium finish in New York. Tola placed fourth in his previous two New York appearances in 2018 and 2019.

This summer in Paris, Tola won the Olympic marathon in an Olympic-record time of 2:06:26, only two weeks after being named to the Ethiopian team as a substitute for injured teammate Sisay Lemma. It was his second Olympic medal, with the other coming in the 10,000 meters at the Rio 2016 Games. He also won marathon gold at the 2022 world championships in a championship-record time of 2:05:36 and silver at the 2017 world championships.  

Elsewhere on the Abbott World Marathon Majors stage, Tola was third at both the 2023 London Marathon and 2021 Tokyo Marathon.

He trains in Ethiopia with former Boston Marathon champion Lemi Berhanu. At the 2023 Dubai Marathon, Tola’s wife, World Cross Country Championships medalist Dera Dida, also competing in New York this year, won the women’s race while his younger brother, Abdisa Tola, triumphed in the men’s race.