See you soon in Paris. After three busy weeks, the 2024 Olympics ended last Sunday (11/08), and a lot of important things happened for the race in these last few days.
Ethiopian Tamirat Tola ignores Parisian hills and breaks Olympic marathon record
Ethiopian Tamirat Tola arrived at the Paris Olympics with the not-so-easy task of replacing the race's top favorite and 2024 Boston Marathon champion, Sisay Lemma.
Despite not being initially named as one of the three athletes to represent Ethiopia, Tola was one of the favorites for the podium considering his past results, especially his victory in the hills of the New York Marathon in November 2023.
In addition to winning the race with a certain ease in the final kilometers, the Ethiopian also lowered the Olympic record by 6 seconds. The previous record had stood for 16 years. His time was 2 hours, 6 minutes and 26 seconds.
In a race where Eliud Kipchoge failed to finish, and other renowned athletes such as Kiplangat (Uganda) and Bekele (Ethiopia) finished 37th and 39th respectively, Tamirat Tola's ease on the climbs is even more impressive.
In addition to Tola, the podium was completed by Belgian Bashir Abdi and Kenyan Benson Kipruto.
After two bronzes in the 5K and 10K, Sifan Hassan breaks the world record and wins the gold medal at the Paris Olympics
BRS Agency / Getty Images
Among all the historic feats that have taken place in Paris in recent weeks, one of the most absurd was carried out by Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan.
After winning two bronze medals in the 5K and 10K track events, Hassan started on Sunday morning as the second athlete to be beaten in the marathon, behind only the current world record holder Tigist Assefa.
With the race decided by a sprint in the final 200 meters, Sifan Hassan opened up a 3-second lead over Tigist Assefa, breaking the old Olympic record by 12 seconds and finishing the race in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds.
Three results of this magnitude in the same Olympics are definitely not for everyone.
Not once, not twice, SIX TIMES…
That was the number of consecutive events that Sydney McLaughlin broke the 400m hurdles world record.
As if the completely absurd record wasn't enough, Sydney was the first athlete in history to win two Olympic golds in the sport.
Across all Olympic sports, there are few names as dominant as Sydney McLaughlin in the 400m hurdles.
For comparison purposes, the runner-up in Paris achieved a time of 51.87s, 0.03s better than the American sprinter's time in the qualifiers for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics! At the time, Sydney broke the then world record with a time of 51.90.
The question remains: how long will the 25-year-old American's streak of world records last?
How was the Marathon Pour Tous, the first amateur marathon in the history of the Olympics
Starting with the route : over 480 meters of elevation, with climbs of over 15% incline. In terms of effort, the route is significantly more tiring than any of the 6 majors, including Boston, which is a great parameter for discussion.
Despite the difficulty, the organization's intention was to make the route pass by most of the city's main tourist attractions, and they were successful in this.
Regarding the organization: The pre-race was well organized, with more than one kit pick-up point and lines that, although long, moved quickly. All of them were easily accessible by subway and very centrally located.
During the race, the lack of isotonic drinks at the hydration points and the somewhat muggy climate in Paris affected the athletes, causing many to become ill in the middle of the course, which in turn was narrow and could be reduced to just one lane of traffic.
The post-race chaos was the biggest problem. With many athletes feeling unwell, transportation was difficult due to the time of day and the more than 40,000 runners, the organization made a mistake by placing the meeting point for athletes and their families in a cramped place that made it difficult to move around and evacuate.
The atmosphere of the test: Simply fantastic. Lots of cheering for most of the route, even though the race started at 9pm and went on into the early hours of the morning.
As mentioned before, the route passed by the city's main monuments, making it not only iconic for being an Olympic event, but also aesthetically wonderful, with the Paris climate helping and keeping the temperature pleasant throughout the route.
The expectation is that for the next Olympics in Los Angeles, the organization will learn a little more about what the biggest events in the world do, and will not leave anything to be desired in some basic aspects for the athletes and the spectacle.
Despite everything, the balance was positive…