 Tamirat at the2015 Berlin Marathon | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Tamirat Tola Abera |
| Nationality | Ethiopian |
| Born | (1991-08-11)11 August 1991 (age 34) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Long-distance running |
| Club | Oromia Police Club |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbests |
|
Medal record | |
Tamirat Tola Abera (born 11 August 1991) is anEthiopian Olympic and world championlong-distance runner. Hailing from the regional state ofOromia,[1] he competes intrack,road andcross country events.[2] He won gold medal in themarathon at the2024 Summer Olympics, setting an Olympic record,[3] and the bronze medal in the10,000 metres at the2016 Summer Olympics.[4] He competed in the marathon at the2017 and2022 World Athletics Championships, earning silver and gold, respectively, and setting a championship record at the 2022 competition.[5][6] He finished third at both the2021 Tokyo and2023 London marathons and won the2023 New York City Marathon, breaking the course record.[7][8][9]
At 22, Tamirat Tola won the May 2013 4th edition of theLake Hawassa Half Marathon, setting a course record of 62:44. This race is part of TheGreat Ethiopian Run organization and is distinct from the inauguralHaile Gebrselassie Half Marathon won byGudisa Shentema that also took place in 2013 inHawassa.[10][11] In June, in theCzech Republic, Tamirat won theČeské Budějovice Half Marathon with a time of 62:24.[12][13] The same month inLangueux, France, at the Corrida Internationale de Langueux, he took third place in the 10K road-race with a time of 28:24, three seconds behind the Ethiopian winner,Tesfaye Abera and one second behind Kenya's Milton Rotich.[14][15]
In September 2013, again in the Czech Republic, he took fourth place at theÚstí nad Labem Half Marathon, further improving his pace for that distance to 61:27.[16][17] Then in October, with a time of 60:14, he finished third in the 35thMarseille-Cassis 20-km race behind countrymanMule Wasihun andCyprian Kotut of Kenya.[18]
In January 2014, his marathon debut was at the high-profileDubai Marathon which he finished in fourth place with a time of 2:06:17.[19][20][21] But in April at theParis Marathon, after having kept up with the leaders until about kilometer 27, he fell back, finishing at 3:04:24.[22][23]
In February 2015 inAddis Ababa, the relative newcomer won the 32ndJan Meda International Cross Country event, a 12-km race which he finished in 35:08 in a photo-finish withBonsa Dida. This led to his selection for the2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March of that year.[24][25] 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 andAtsedu Tsegay were the other point-scoring team members.[26][27]
In April 2015, Tamirat finished third behind Victor Chumo and countryman Muktar Edris in the 31stGiro Media Blenio inDongio, Switzerland with a 10K time of 28:26.6.[28][29][30] Then two weeks later Tamirat finished fifth in theYangzhou Jianzhen International Half Marathon inChina, securing a new best at 60:08.[31] In June, he finished sixth with a time of 27:22.64 in the Ethiopian World Championships 10,000-meter time trial inHengelo, Netherlands.[32]
In September, by his own account, he dropped out of the2015 Berlin Marathon.[33] But in November he secured two major titles, winning the 15thGreat Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa and a week later the 34thCross Internacional de la Constitucion inAlcobendas, Spain. He completied the Addis Ababa 10K course with a time of 28:44, again with Bonsa Dida claiming second, this time six seconds behind. He completed that 9.24-km Spanish race with a time of 29:28, beating outTimothy Toroitich and turning the tables on Muktar Edris.[33][34]
In December 2015, Tamirat took second place, one second behind Bahrain'sAweke Ayalew in theCross Internacional de Venta de Banos, finishing the 10.5-km course with a time of 32:19.[35] Tamirat closed out 2015 winning the men's 10K of the 41stBOclassic on New Year's Eve inBolzano, Italy with a time of 28:28 atop an all-Ethiopian podium.[36]
These good performances on the circuit led to Tamirat's win at the 34thCross Internacional de Itálica nearSeville in January 2016. In the penultimate 2-km lap, he surged ahead putting 50 meters between himself and the leaders. Finishing the more than 10.9-km course in 30:57, he bestedTeklemariam Medhin and again Toroitich and called the win "the most important so far."[37]
He was part of the national team setup in 2016, this time for the2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, a March event inCardiff. He was again an essential team member with his fifth-place finish, a personal best of 60:06, pushing Ethiopia throughAbayneh Ayele, Tamirat, andMule Wasihun to the team silver medals behind Kenya.[38][39][40]
In May 2016, with a personal best of 26:57.33, Tamirat took 3rd place in theEugene Prefontaine Classic 10,000 meter race behindMo Farah and William Malel Sitonik.[41][14]
In August 2016, with a time of 27:06.26, Tamirat won bronze in Rio in the2016 Summer Olympics 10,000-metre race. He finished 1.09 seconds behind British gold medalistMo Farah withPaul Tanui of Kenya taking the podium for silver.[42]
Then in October 2016 at theGiro al Sas 10K Road Race inTrento, Italy, Tamirat took second behind Abdallah Mande ofUganda, though both racers were clocked at 28:47. Tamirat's lap-7 surge was met by Mande, both of them leaving Muktar Edris for third.[43][14] Eight days later, it was Tamirat who left Mande behind at third, winning the Dutch race 4 Miles of Groningen with a time of 17:38. CountrymanYigrem Demelash finished second.[14][44]
Tamirat won the January 2017 Dubai Marathon clocking 2:04:11 and breaking the 2012 course record held byAyele Abshero, also from Ethiopia. Ethiopians Mule Wasihun andSisay Lemma took second and third respectively. The effort earned Tamirat a prize of $200,000.[21][45]
Spectators at theSportsimo Prague Half Marathon in April 2017 witnessed Tamirat achieve a personal best of 59:37, winning the race over a minute faster than Josphat Kimutai Tanui and Geoffrey Yegon of Kenya and running the race's third 5K segment in only 13:54.[46][47]
In August 2017, Tamirat participated in theWorld Championships held in London, earning the silver medal in the marathon with a time of 2:09:49 behind Kenyan winnerGeoffrey Kirui and two seconds ahead of Tanzania'sAlphonce Simbu.[48][49]
Tamirat's third appearance at the Dubai Marathon in January 2018 earned him third place with a time of 2:04:06, the same asAsefa Mengstu of Ethiopia who took fourth. In fact, the top-ten men's finishers were all Ethiopians, led byMosinet Geremew andLeul Gebresilase. Tamirat's effort was hindered by his having been blocked at a drink station where he almost fell at kilometer 35.[50][14]
Runners in the2018 Boston Marathon in April experienced cold, wet conditions including 25 mph headwinds, freezing rain and temperatures in the 30s Fahrenheit. As a result, 23 elite runners dropped out including Tamirat.Yuki Kawauchi of Japan won the race.[51][52]
November 2018 was Tamirat's first attempt at theNew York City Marathon where he took fourth place at 2:08:30, about two-and-a-half minutes behind the race's winnerLelisa Dessisa, also from Ethiopia.[53]
Tamirat returned to Bolzano for the 2018 New Year's Eve Boclassic 10K and won it with a time of 28:12, the race's fastest win since 1998. CompetitorsJairus Birech of Kenya andOscar Chelimo of Uganda took second and third respectively.[54]
In April 2019 at theLondon Marathon, though he finished with a time of 2:06:57, Tamirat was one of many elites unable to keep up with the "searing" pace of winner Eliud Kipchoge. Tamirat finished sixth.[55][56]
Tamirat won the July 2019 20thBogatá Half Marathon with a time of 62:35 ahead ofLawrence Cherono and John Lotiang, both from Kenya. After 7 km, Tamirat took the lead and never gave it up, finishing fifteen seconds above the record and declaring his desire to return to break it.[57]
TheCOVID-19 pandemic caused organizers of the2020 London Marathon to postpone it to October from its usual date in April and to allow only a small number of elite runners onto its official course, a series of 1.3-mile laps plus an additional 1,470 yards. Tamirat was included in that elite group and finished sixth with a time of 2:06:41, one minute behind the winner, Ethiopia'sShura Kitata.[58][59]
The pandemic also caused the2020 Summer Olympics to be postponed until 2021, and therefore the Ethiopian Olympic Trials in Hengelo until June 2021, where Tamirat participated in the 10,000-meter trials. He finished eleventh with a time of 27:54.95.[14][60]
Though Tamirat did not make the Ethiopian Olympic team for Tokyo,[61] he smashed not only the course record, but also the record for fastest marathon on Dutch soil at theTCS Amsterdam Marathon in October 2021. He finished with a time of 2:03:39, 30 seconds ahead of Kenya'sBernard Koech. Leul Gebresilase finished a close third.[62]
On New Year's Eve 2021, he returned for the third time to the BOclassic 10,000-meter road race in Bolzano, Italy, finishing in second place behind countryman Tadese Worku and ahead of Great Britain's Tom Mortimer in third place.[14][63]
The2021 Tokyo Marathon was originally scheduled for October 2021, but due to concerns surrounding increased infections of theCOVID-19 Delta variant, the race was postponed until March 2022. Tamirat took third on the fast, flat course with a time of 2:04:14, bested by two Kenyans. The favorite, Kenya'sEliud Kipchoge, finished first whileAmos Kipruto took second place.[64][65][66][67]
In July 2022, Tamirat won gold in themarathon at theWorld Championships inEugene, Oregon, an early race under the leadership of Gemedo Dedefo, Tamirat's coach.[68] Until his surge at around the 20-mile mark, there were no clear leaders among the group of 60-or-so elites, which included defending world champion Lelisa Desisa. Start temperatures were in the mid-50s Fahrenheit on a cloudy day. That, coupled with a relatively flat course, created a fast race. Tamirat stretched his lead to over a minute from his closest pursuers and finished with a championship-record time of 2:05:36. Mosinet Geremew took second with Belgium'sBashir Abdi finishing a close third.[69]
Tamirat reported muscle fatigue after the World Championships preventing him from training. This compelled him to withdraw from the2022 London Marathon before the race which had been postponed to October from its regular April date due to COVID-19.[70] Instead, on the day of the London Marathon, Tamirat was in Italy. There, he won and set a course record of 59:49 at the Trento Half Marathon, followed by Kenya's Wesley Kimutai and then Kevin Kibet of Uganda at third.[71]
But in April 2023, at the nextLondon Marathon, Tamirat took third place with a time of 2:04:59, though more than three minutes behind winnerKelvin Kiptum of Kenya.[72] Then in August at themarathon World Championships in Budapest, though Tamirat was in the leader group at least until the 30-kilometer mark, he dropped out of the race for what he said later was a stomach bug.[73][74]
In November 2023, Tamirat won the New York City Marathon with a course-record time of 2:04:58, beatingGeoffrey Mutai's 11-year-old record by eight seconds. Once again, second place went to another Ethiopian,Jemal Yiner, while Kenya'sAlbert Korir took third. Tamirat led the elite pack for the entire race.[75][74][76]
In April 2024, Tamirat started theLondon Marathon but failed to finish, which led to his omission from Ethiopia's national team for the2024 Olympics. Instead,Kenenisa Bekele, who finished second at London, earned a spot on the team alongsideSisay Lemma andDeresa Geleta. But an injury forced Sisay to withdraw from the team, opening the door for Tamirat to race in the Olympic marathon with his compatriots.[77][78][79]
Then, on a bright and clear August morning at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Tamirat joined the group of 80 who raced west from the city center toVersailles and back. In the warmer conditions which in recent years he had begun to excel, he won the marathon title with an Olympic Record time of 2:06:26. He first moved to the lead group just before the halfway point. At around mile 17, in response to runner Akira Akasaki's aggressive attempt to break away from the leaders, Tamirat made a key move that secured his position. He remained in the lead until the 20th mile after which he surged ahead, eventually putting 21 seconds between himself and his pursuers. A race that was called "brutal," "gritty," and that "was billed as one of the most difficult in Olympic history," it challenged racers with steep climbs including a 13.5% incline at mile 18. Belgium's Bashir Abdi and Kenya's Benson Kipruto would join Tamirat on the podium with silver and bronze respectively. Tamirat shared the honor with his injured countryman Sisay who had withdrawn from the team, saying, "this victory also belongs to him for giving me this opportunity." Tamirat was the first male Ethiopian to win the title since 2000 whenGezahegne Abera took the gold at thegames in Sydney.[80][81][82][83]
At an Addis Ababa awards ceremony in August 2024 at theNational Palace, to honor Tamirat's Olympic win, Ethiopia's PresidentSahle-Work Zewde awarded him seven millionbirr (US$65,800[84]) and a gold medal. At the same ceremony, Tamirat's coach Gemedo Dedefa refused the president's two-million-burr (US$18,800[84]) award, claiming it was insufficient considering the coach's high level of Olympic success in 2025.[85]
Tamirat trains with the Oromia Police Club,[33] and in response to his Olympic win, theOromia Police Commission promoted him within its ranks and honored him with a parade.[86]
In November 2024, Tamirat returned to theNew York City Marathon placing fourth with a time of 2:08:12, more than a minute behind title winnerEvans Chebet of Kenya.[87][88]
In December 2024 in Monoco, World Athletics honored Tamirat with the Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year award.[89][90]
In March 2025 in Addis Ababa, Tamirat won the 19th Ethiopia Police Sports Festival half-marathon with a time of 1:04:02.[91][92] Soon after, in April, he finished theLondon Marathon in fifth place with a time of 2:04:42. His time placed him over two minutes behind Sebastian Sawe from Kenya who took first.[93]
Tamirat is married toDera Dida. They have a son, Fenan, who was 3 years old as reported in October 2024. Dera Dida is also an elite runner among whose titles include the 2023Dubai Marathon which she won alongside her husband's brother Abdisa Tola.[81][94]
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| People | |
