The 2023 TCS New York City Marathon is the year’s final Abbott World Major Marathon and brought a strong men’s field to the Big Apple.
Without defending champion Evans Chebet at the start line, we were certain to see a new winner crowned.
The race went out at a fast pace, with many runners coming through the first 5k at just under 15:30. However, the split did not come as early as it did in the women’s race.
By the halfway point in the race, a group of five runners had created a gap to the rest of the field.
Consisting of Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola and Jemal Yimer, who looked strong and led the group most of the race, Kenyan Albert Korir, Dutchman Abdi Nageeye, and Morocco’s Zouhair Talbi.
However, less than 10k after the half marathon point, coming through the 30k mark, the race was obliterated, and it was only the two Ethiopians, Tola and Yimer, that remained.
Tamirat Tola was the stronger of the two Ethiopians on the day as he began to break away from his compatriot. By the time he reached the 35k mark, he had a 34-second gap on Yimer.
At this point in the race, although there was still work to be done, Tola was able to begin to relish the day.
Tola came through the 40k mark in 1:58:08, leaving him with less than 3k and a gap of 1:57 on the rest of the field.
Tamirat Tola took the win at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon in 2:04:58, 1:58.43 ahead of his second-place Albert Korir.
Tola not only won the race but also took down the course record by eight seconds, which stood for 12 years. The previous course record was 2:05:06, set by Geoffrey Mutai at the 2011 edition of the NYC Marathon.
Korir finished the race in 2:06:57 to take second place, with Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata completing the podium after finishing the course in 2:07:11.
Jemal Yimer, who was at the front for most of the race, struggled through the end, unable to keep his pace. He would finish in 2:11:31, taking a respectable 9th place.
After taking bronze at the 2023 London Marathon earlier this year, Tola has now taken his first Major Marathon win. This win adds to his impressive results list, including winning the 2022 World Athletics Championships marathon in Eugene, Oregon.
