By Miguel Rapetti
05 Nov 2023, 20:36 PM EST
The Ethiopian Tamirat Tola, who this Sunday made history by breaking the New York Marathon record, was very grateful this Sunday to all the inhabitants of the city who showed him their support and accompanied him to register the new mark.
At a press conference, Tola spared no words to thank him for an unusual feat, stopping the clock at 2:04:58 and overthrowing the previous mark of Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai, who in 2011 closed the New York Marathon in 2:05:06.
“The people of New York are incredible, they have given me moral support every kilometer (…). Thank you all,” said Tola, after running the last third of the race alone.
Tola, 32 years old and winner of gold at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, dominated his test from start to finish with enormous authority, taking almost two minutes ahead of Kenyan Albert Korir, who finished in second position (2h06:57).
“I am happy to win the New York Marathon for the first time. It was my third participation and in the other two I had been fourth. Now I am happy,” she said.
Tola pointed out that the New York route is “very difficult” and pointed out that this victory helps him make up for the World Cup in Budapest this summer, in which he had to withdraw due to stomach problems.
With more than 50,000 participants willing to travel the little more than 42 kilometers, New York gave athletes a perfect day to take to the streets at this time of year.
In total, the race passed through the five boroughs of the city, such as Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan, in the midst of a large security deployment to prevent any type of attack or terrorist attack.
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