Reigning champion Tamrat Tola, Tirunesh Dibaba head New York Marathon entry list

Addis Ababa, August 21, 2024 (FBC) – The Olympic men’s marathon reigning champion Tamrat Tola and Trunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia lead the star-studded entry list for the TCS New York City Marathon on November 3, 2024, the organizers confirmed.

On Tuesday, New York Road Runners (NYRR) has announced a world-class professional athlete lineup that features 14 past champions, 27 Olympians, and 19 Paralympians for the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon, one of 60 adult and youth races produced annually by the nonprofit.

The field includes 31 athletes from the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics who will race through the five boroughs Sunday, November 3 — including multi-time Olympic medalists and defending champions Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia and Hellen Obiri of Kenya, and six-time TCS New York City Marathon champion Marcel Hug.

The men’s open division will be led by Tamrat, who last year pulled away from the field in the final six miles to finish in 2:04:58, breaking a12-year-old course record. Tamrat won the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon in an Olympic-record time of 2:06:26, only two weeks after being named to the Ethiopian team as an alternate. It was his second Olympic medal, with the other coming in the 10,000 meters at the Rio 2016 Games. He also won marathon gold at the 2022 world championships and silver at the 2017 world championships.

“I’m excited to defend my title in New York, especially coming off an Olympic-record marathon performance,” said Tola. “The hilly course and crowds in Paris definitely prepared me well for the bridges and spectators in New York, where maybe I can go even faster this year.”

Accordingly, Tamrat Tola, enters this race as the presumptive favorite after winning the gold medal in Paris.

Challenging him in the streets of New York will be his compatriot Addisu Gobena, Belgium’s Bashir Abdi, and many other renowned athletes.

Women’s Open Division entry list includes Trunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia and Kenya’s Obiri, a three-time Olympic medalist and the defending champion of both the TCS New York City Marathon and Boston Marathon.

Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba will make her TCS New York City Marathon debut and is one of the world’s most accomplished long-distance runners as a three-time Olympic and 16-time world championships gold medalist. Another Ethiopian, two-time Olympian and three-time Mastercard New York Mini 10K champion Senbere Teferi, and Dera Dida will join her.