Ethiopian athlete Tamirat Tola will defend his title at the New York City Marathon weeks after picking up Gold medal in Paris, hoping to become only the second athlete to win the Olympic title and the five-borough major in the same year.
Tola set a new course record in New York last year and said he was taking inspiration this time around from Kenya’s Peres, who broke the tape in Manhattan after winning in Tokyo three years ago. He broke the Olympic record after an astonishing performance when he tamed the challenging Paris course earlier this month.
The hilly New York course suits him perfectly, he told reporters, and the 2022 world champion has few concerns adding the challenging race to his agenda so close after the Games.
Tola is not the only Paris medallist taking on the year’s final major, as Kenyan bronze winner Hellen Obiri will defend her title on the women’s side. The pair were part of a handful of top contenders that organisers New York Road Runners announced.
