Ethiopia Marathon Team at Paris 2024: Kenenisa Bekele, Sisay Lemma, and Tigst Assefa headline the squad

A six-member squad will represent Ethiopia Marathon Team for the Paris Olympics 2024 as announced by the Ethiopian Federation of Athletics. The squad comprises the likes of Kenenisa Bekele, Sisay Lemma, and Tigist Assefa, among others.

Kenenisa Bekele, who will turn 42 on June 13 this year, will represent the Ethiopia Marathon Team in his fourth Olympic Games and the first time over this distance. He has previously brought laurels to the nation at the Olympics by winning three gold, and one silver medal, which came in the 10,000 and 5,000m.

The Ethiopian legend’s recent top finish was during the 2024 London Marathon where he came second by breaking his own Masters record as he clocked a sensational time of 2:04:15 to only finish behind Mutiso Munyao (2:04:01).

Sisay Lemma, who won the 2024 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:06:17, will also enter the Paris Olympics 2024 as one of the strong contenders in the men's race.

Tamirat Tola too is an athlete to watch out for, having won the bronze in the Rio Olympics in 10,000m. He also has two World Championships medals in marathon running, which includes a gold in 2022 and a silver in 2017.

In the women’s category, Tigist Assefa will be leading the Ethiopia Marathon Team at the Paris Olympics 2024. Assefa made headlines after setting a women’s marathon world record in a mixed-gender race with a time of 2:11:53 at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, thus defending her women’s title.

The two other female athletes - Amane Beriso, and Gotytom Gebreslase, also have the potential to bring the title to the nation. While Beriso is the current world champion in marathon running clocking a 2:24:23, Gebreslase won the silver medal in that race with a 2:24:34. Gebreslase previously won gold in the World Championships back in 2022.

Ethiopia Marathon Team for the Paris Olympics 2024

Gotytom Gebreslase, Amane Beriso Shankule and Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi during the medal ceremony for the Women's Marathon at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for World Athletics)

Men: Sisay Lemma, Tamirat Tola, Kenenisa Bekele

Women: Tigist Assefa, Amane Beriso, Gotytom Gebreslase

Ethiopia Marathon Team at the Summer Olympics

Ethiopia Marathon Team is the second most successful nation at the Summer Olympics in the men’s category, only behind France.

So far, they have won a total of eight gold medals, winning four gold, one silver, and three bronze medals, with Abebe Bikila being the most accomplished male runner in the 1960 and 1964 Games.

Since its inception at the 1984 Games, the women's marathon competition has seen the nation win a total of three medals, including two gold and one bronze, at the Olympics. They are placed third in the table, with Fatuma Roba and Tiki Gelana being the two gold medalists who won in 1996 Atlanta and 2012 London Games.