Tamirat Tola facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tamirat Tola

Tamirat at the 2015 Berlin Marathon
Personal information
Full name	Tamirat Tola Abera
Nationality	Ethiopian
Born	(1991-08-11) 11 August 1991 (age 33)
Sport
Country	Ethiopia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Long-distance running
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Marathon: 2:03:39 (Amsterdam 2021) Olympic Marathon: 2:06:26 OR (Paris 2024)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Ethiopia Olympic Games Gold 2024 Paris Marathon Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro 10,000 m World Championships Gold 2022 Eugene Marathon Silver 2017 London Marathon World Half Marathon Championships Silver 2016 Cardiff Team World Cross Country Championships Gold 2015 Guiyang Team World Marathon Majors Gold 2023 New York Marathon Bronze 2022 Tokyo Marathon Bronze 2023 London Marathon

Tamirat Tola Abera (born 11 August 1991) is an Ethiopian Olympic and world champion long-distance runner who competes in track, road and cross country events. He won gold medal in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, setting an Olympic record and the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Tamirat competed in the marathon at the 2017 and 2022 World Athletics Championships, earning silver and gold, respectively, setting a championship record at the latter in the process. He finished third at both the 2021 Tokyo and 2023 London Marathon and won the 2023 New York City Marathon, breaking the course record.

Career

At 22 in the Czech Republic, Tola won the 2013 České Budějovice Half Marathon in a time of 1:02:24. That same year, also in the Czech Republic, he further improved to 1:01:27 at the Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon, taking fourth place. Then in 2014, he finished the high-profile Dubai Marathon in fourth place with a time of 2:06:17.

In February 2015 in Addis Ababa, the relative newcomer won the 32nd Jan Meda International Cross Country event, a 12-km race which he finished in 35:08 in a photo-finish with Bonsa Dida. This led to his selection for the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March of that year. Making his international debut, he took sixth place in the senior race which helped the Ethiopians narrowly take the team title on equal points with Kenya (Muktar Edris, Hagos Gebrhiwet and Atsedu Tsegay were the other point-scoring team members).

By his own account, he dropped out of the 2015 Berlin Marathon. But in November of that year he won the 15th Great Ethiopian Run, having entered the race with a 10,000-meter best of 27:22:64 and completing its 10K course with a time of 28:44, again with Dida claiming second, this time six seconds behind. That same year, Tola set a best of 60:08 minutes for the half marathon.

Tola finished out 2015 winning the 41st BOclassic 10K on New Years Eve in Bolzano, Italy with a time of 28:28 atop an all-Ethiopian podium.

Several good performances on the circuit in late 2015/early 2016 led to wins at the Cross Internacional de Itálica, Cross International de la Constitución, and the Boclassic. He was part of the national team setup in 2016, this time for the 2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. He was again an essential team member with his fifth-place finish in a time of 60:06 minutes, pushing Ethiopia (through Abayneh Ayele, Tamirat, and Mule Wasihun) to the team silver medals.

In 2017, Tamirat participated in the World Championships held in London, earning the silver medal in the marathon with a time of 2:09:49.

In 2022, he went one better in the marathon at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, winning gold and setting a championship record of 2:05:36 in the process.

In 2023, he won the New York City Marathon with a course record time of 2:04:58.

In 2024, he won the Olympic marathon title in Paris with an Olympic Record time of 2:06:26. Tamirat was a late addition to the Ethiopian National Team due to injury of Sisay Lemma.

Achievements

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Result
Representing  Ethiopia
2015	World Cross Country Championships	Guiyang, China	6th	Senior race	35:33
			1st	Team	20 pts
2016	World Half Marathon Championships	Cardiff, United Kingdom	5th	Half marathon	1:00:06
			2nd	Team	3:01:16
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	3rd	10,000 m	27:06.26
2017	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	2nd	Marathon	2:09:49
2022	World Championships	Eugene, OR, United States	1st	Marathon	2:05:36 CR
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	–	Marathon	DNF
2024	Olympic Games	Paris, France	1st	Marathon	2:06:26
World Marathon Majors
2015	Berlin Marathon	Berlin, Germany	–	Marathon	DNF
2018	Boston Marathon	Boston, MA, United States	–	Marathon	DNF
	New York City Marathon	New York, NY, United States	4th	Marathon	2:08:30
2019	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	6th	Marathon	2:06:57
	New York City Marathon	New York, NY, United States	4th	Marathon	2:09:20
2020	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	6th	Marathon	2:06:41
2022	Tokyo Marathon	Tokyo, Japan	3rd	Marathon	2:04:14
2023	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	3rd	Marathon	2:04:59
	New York City Marathon	New York, NY, United States	1st	Marathon	2:04:58
2024	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	–	Marathon	DNF
2024	New York City Marathon	New York, NY, United States	4th	Marathon	2:08:12

Circuit wins

• 2013: Hawassa Half Marathon (ETH), České Budějovice Half Marathon
• 2015: BOclassic
• 2017: Dubai Marathon, Prague Half Marathon
• 2018: BOclassic
• 2019: Bogotá Half Marathon
• 2021: Amsterdam Marathon
• 2022: Trento Half Marathon (ITA)

Personal bests

• 10,000 metres – 26:57.33 (Eugene, OR 2016)
• 10 kilometres – 28:12 (Bolzano 2018)
• Half marathon – 59:37 (Prague 2017)
• Marathon – 2:03:39 (Amsterdam 2021)

See also

In Spanish: Tamirat Tola para niños