There are so many ways of killing a rat. This was evident in the different ways that the winners of the Paris 2024 Olympics marathon races used to win their respective races. Marathon runners also learned many lessons from the two races.
In a show of great determination, Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola just won the first gold medal for his country in a new Olympic record of 2:06:26 at the ongoing Olympic Games in Paris. Bashir Abdi of Belgium won the silver medal in 2:06:47, while Kenya’s Benson Kipruto finished third to take home the bronze medal in 2:07:00.
In an unprecedented version, Netherlands’s Siffan Hassan won gold on the women’s marathon event’s on the last day of the Paris Olympics. She set a new Olympic record of 2:22:55 on what many consider as one of the toughest marathon courses in the world. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, the world record holder for the marathon took second to take home the silver medal in 2:22:58. At the same time, Kenya’s Hellen Obiri won the bronze medal in a new personal best time of 2:23:10.
Below are the lessons from the exciting marathon races on the streets of Paris.
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Speed is becoming more critical in marathon races
After the women’s marathon race had progressed well into an exciting climax with four runners, including Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi, still in contention for the gold medal at the 40K mark, the podium places were finally decided in around the last 400m of the race when Assefa and Hassan had engaged in a sprint finish, leaving Obiri to struggle behind them. Hassan, who had already bagged two bronze medals in the 5000m and 10,000m on track, had a more powerful finishing kick that yielded a befitting gold medal for her.
It is worth noting that Assefa has a background in the 800m and 400m track events. She was the 2016 Diamond League winner in the 800m and the 2013 African U20 bronze medalist in both the 800m and 4 x 400m relay.
This race ended almost like a long-distance track race.
As the five approached 40K, the tension and excitement created a tense and thrilling climax; three were going to medal, and two were going to miss out.
With less than 2K to go, Amane Berisso was dropped, leaving four. Obiri was on the offensive, pushing the pace at the front. Lokedi was the first to drop back after that, as three remained in the lead with about 500m to go. A sprint finish would put the three in their respective medal positions.
In these times where every runner across the world has known what it takes to train for a marathon, perhaps it is time runners focus on working on their sprinting as well as it may be what could give them victory at the end of a tight race.
It is good to take advantage of your strengths in a marathon
Tola, the 2022 world champion and reigning New York City Marathon champion, made his intentions known at around 18km into the men’s race and continued to open a good gap to dominate the remaining kilometres in a gutsy run.
While Tola had taken advantage of his strengths—being an excellent tough course runner, with New York City victory to show that—to open a gap at the most challenging part of the course and extend his lead, this didn’t happen in the women’s race and ended up falling in the hands of runners who do well in faster courses.
Sunday, August 11th, was the women’s turn to take on the tough course that they had seen their male counterparts do the previous day. Perhaps they learned some lessons watching them run. But then again, knowing everything about the course and not having trained well a month out to tackle it may not have helped much.
Given that the men’s race had gone to the reigning New York City Marathon champion, it might have come as good news to the women in the Kenyan squad, who have all won individual titles in the same marathon: Sharon Lokedi in 2022, Peres Jepchirchir in 2021, and Hellen Obiri in 2023.
However, the race tactics, in which everyone seemed to have decided to remain patient until the end, ended up favouring the 31-year-old two-time world and two-time Olympic champion.
During the first stages of the race, France’s Melody Julien had made a surge and opened a gap shortly after the 10K point that was crossed in 34:32. The rest of the leading pack seemed to have just let her break away, but then Kenya’s defending Olympic champion decided to close the gap and the rest followed. About fourteen runners were again together in the lead pack at the 15K point, crossing it in 51:12.
Australia’s Jessica Stenson, leading after fifteen kilometres, crossed the halfway point in 1:13:32, just two seconds ahead of the chasing pack of about eighteen runners.
The hilly section from around 28 to around 30 kilometres had determined the medalists in the men’s race after the field was left in a single file behind Tola. But, five women remained in the leading pack after the brutal hill –three Kenyans and two Ethiopians. Four runners would re-attach themselves again in the pack at the descent after 30K. Five crossed the 35K mark in 1:59:43.
Next time I run a marathon, I’ll aim to run my own race and use my strengths to pull away from my competitors. I’ll also incorporate this into my online coaching advice to my online running clients.
Anything can happen in a marathon race
While good preparations are often the key to a good marathon run for all runners, the marathon race is long and brutal. There is plenty of time for anything to go wrong.
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the men’s defending champion and touted as the greatest marathon runner of all time; Peres Jepchirchir, the women’s defending champion; and Netherland’s Abdi Nageeye, the Olympic Silver medalist from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, did not perform as expected in Paris.
At the start of the men’s race, being the defending champion, all eyes, focus, and cameras were on Kipchoge. Known for running under 2 hours for the marathon and winning some of the fastest marathons in the world from Berlin to London to Chicago and Tokyo marathons, it was understandable. He even had a differently coloured bib from the rest of the field. But, it remained to be seen how he would fare on a challenging course with no pace setters on a warm and humid day.
Indeed, it didn’t go well for the two-time Olympic champion. The 39-year-old—who had shown up with a headband designed to help cool his body during the race—failed to finish the race after clutching the side of his stomach in the first half.
Apparently, The Paris Olympics course was set to spring up surprises.
After a relatively slow start, Eyop Faniel of Italy had made a surge after the 10 Km point, and the rest of the leading pack appeared hesitant to follow him, seeming to let Kipchoge make the decisions as he seemed to be controlling the chasing pack.
Faniel was 23 seconds ahead of them at the 15K mark where he crossed it in 45:38. After a hilly 5K, and crossing the 20 km point in 1:01:32, the gap had reduced to eleven seconds as Tola was slowly closing in on him.
The half-marathon point was passed in 1:04:51, with Tola taking the lead and seven other runners closely behind him.
Amid all these, Nageeye, who had to stop early in the race to check his shoes, fought his way back to the leading pack before lagging behind again towards the end of the race and eventually stopping.
Kipchoge, too, would arrive later shoeless and shirtless, having given out his running kits to fans besides the road after pulling out of the race before reaching the 35 km point.
Jepchirchir as well, despite finishing in 15th place, some four minutes later had struggled towards the end of the race and her result was not what was expected of the reigning world recod holder, especially from her fans.
Finishing a marathon is a great achievement in itself.