Tamirat Tola put everyone in disbelief when he crossed the finish line today. The watch showed he had taken 2:06:26 to cross everything—the humongous marathon distance, the steep uphill and downhill, and the unfriendly weather. When other runners found it hard to cope with the competition and other parameters, the Ethiopian athlete cared about nothing, except the other side of the ribbon. Meanwhile, the same marathon at the Paris Olympics had to witness Eliud Kipchoge fall because of an undisclosed physical burden. So what did work for Tamirat that kept him ahead of everyone today in the streets of Paris and Versailles? 

His determination, maybe! Last year at the Budapest World Athletics Championships, Tamirat Tola could not finish the marathon, having a feeling similar to what Eliud might have experienced today. But he turned the table. Subsequently, he set his eyes on the Paris Olympics. After all, he could break the ceiling today, as the last time he had achieved a medal at the Olympics was in 2016. After the contest today, Tamirat shed further light on this, saying, “I lost in Budapest, come again to the Olympics”. Another thing that helped him reach the sky today was his change of events. 

Before the Tokyo Olympics, Tamirat Tola faced Eliud Kipchoge in the marathon just once and could not perform effectively. Even he was nowhere in the scene when the Japanese capital hosted the Olympics. He did compete in the 10,000m Ethiopian Olympic trial event. But only hard luck remained in store for him. The count of accomplishments in Ethiopian middle- or long-distance running also drowned visibly. But Tamirat’s decision to change the event worked like magic for him. 

In the post-Tokyo Olympics phase, the 32-year-old achieved several global achievements, whereas his chance to feature in the Olympic squad for his country increased. Still, there was Sisay Lemma, who had a better chance to cut the deal. However, Tamirat kept his feet on reality. Yet, things took a turn, and it did for the latter’s good. 

Tamirat Tola dedicates his victory to his predecessor 

Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie had his hope manifested in Tamirat Tola. He has been the idol of the latter since Tamirat was just 19. Haile’s staple event used to be the 10,000m event, in which his worshiper already had an Olympic medal. But for further success, he had to knock on the gate of the marathon. Still, Tamirat could have ended up falling short of entering the national team for the Paris Olympics, as Sisay Lemma had a higher chance. But his injury handed the ticket to the current Olympic champion. 

Today he acknowledged the camaraderie between him and Lemma that inspired him to come to this distance. He stated, “Sisay told me that it was better for him to drop out and for me to compete. He said, ‘you can do better than me in my condition.’ It is thanks to him, this victory also belongs to him for giving me this opportunity.” At the end, Tamirat spoke about himself: “I prepared well. I trained hard so I could win. In my life, this is my great achievement.” Some changes are so good that they can even bring an Olympic gold medal.