The Ethiopian athlete, a recent winner at the World Championships in Eugene, will be one of the big names on the elite men’s list hoping to break the course record
Tamirat Tola will be one of the big names on the elite list for the Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso who will take to the starting line on 4 December with the clear goal of lowering the current best time over the Valencian course, set at 2h03:00 in 2020. This will allow the race to continue climbing up the international marathon rankings, in which it currently holds the fifth best record in history.
The Ethiopian runner, who was recently proclaimed World Marathon champion at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon (USA), will enter the race with this international recognition, but also following a sensational personal best over the distance of 2h03:39, achieved less than a year ago in Amsterdam. Tola is a very robust and versatile athlete, with a short but impressive list of achievements in cross country and on the track. At the World Championships and Olympic Games, he has a silver medal and a bronze medal, respectively, in addition to the latest World Cup gold a few weeks ago.
Tamirat Tola is optimistic regarding the challenge of beating his personal best in Valencia and also about lowering the record for the Valencia course. “It is with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation to run the Valencia Marathon after I gave up running the London Marathon. After the victory at the world championships I had to recover 15 days and this meant that with only 60 days of preparation it was not correct to show up in London. I believe that the Valencia course is one of the fastest in the world and I hope to be able to run my personal best and the race record if all conditions are favourable. See you on December 4th in Valencia”, explains the international athlete.
Tola will be the focus of much of the attention in the city of running, although he will not be the only big international elite name that the Valencia Marathon organisers have lined up to run on 4 December, with other favourites to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Double Ethiopian attraction with the debut of Gidey
In addition, this 42nd Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso will be the stage chosen by his Ethiopian compatriot, the athlete Letesenbet Gidey, to make her debut over the distance of 42,195 metres. The Ethiopian athlete has a special love for Valencia, as two of her four world records have been achieved in the city of running. In fact, both of her performances in Valencia have resulted in a world record.
