Berlin Marathon champion from 2021 looks to add another title to his name by winning in French capital

With a major marathon crown to his name, Guye Adola will no doubt start as one of the heavy favourites for the 46th edition of the Paris Marathon.

The 32-year-old Ethiopian burst onto the scene in a dramatic way back in 2017 when he set the then fastest marathon debut in history with 2:03:46 in Berlin, finishing only second to Eliud Kipchoge.

Four years later he went one better in the German capital after clocking 2:05:45, a time that was good enough to see off both Bethwel Yegon and Kenenisa Bekele.

Tomorrow an estimated 50k+ runners complete the @parismarathon – the second largest in the world after New York ?

We’re also just over a year away until the Paris Olympics and Paralympics ?

The French capital will be the centre of athletics for quite a while ?? pic.twitter.com/3ZDVVXajAg

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) April 1, 2023

He also has an individual and team bronze to his name from the 2014 World Half Marathon Championships.

Adola’s biggest challenger in Paris is likely to come from course record-holder Elisa Rotich, who recorded a stunning mark of 2:04:21 when he won the event back in 2021.

The fact that Adola hasn’t raced since his victory in Berlin means the men’s race is likely not to be a foregone conclusion.

Elsewhere, US athlete Leonard Korir takes on his first marathon since finishing 14th in the New York City Marathon last November.

The 36-year-old has a personal best of 2:07:56 from the Amsterdam Marathon back in 2019 and finished fourth in the US Olympic trials over the distance in 2020. He missed out on a place in the team by three tenths of a second.

Korir has a NCAA 10,000m title to his name from 2011 and also has pedigree in the UK, having won back-to-back Great Edinburgh Cross Country titles in 2017 and 2018.

One name that will be popular amongst the Parisian crowd will be ultra-runner Mathieu Blanchard, who finished second and third placed at the last two editions of UTMB [Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc]. He is not in the elite field but will no doubt use this marathon experience in Paris to help prepare him for Western States 100 in June.

The standout name on paper in the women’s field is world marathon silver medallist from Beijing 2015, Helah Kiprop.

The best bet may come from 26-year-old Etagegne Woldu who has the fastest PB on paper with 2:20:03.

If she manages to beat or challenge Judith Korir’s course record of 2:19:48 from 2019, Woldu will astonishingly become the 32nd female Ethiopian athlete to break the 2:20 barrier in the marathon.

We’re at the @parismarathon Expo and took a behind the scenes look earlier on ahead of the 46th edition of the event this Sunday (April 2) ??

It’s the marathon with the second-most finishers in the world, behind New York City Marathon ? pic.twitter.com/ghkD1oIkc7

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 31, 2023

With the second-most finishers in the world, behind the New York City Marathon, expect between 45,000 and 50,000 people to take part in Paris.

Unlike some marathons who prioritise places for runners by ballot, Paris entries are instead based on a first-come, first-serve-basis.

Given the general ease of applying and virtue of the small distance to the UK, it’s one of the most popular marathons for Brits to do.

The modern version of the Paris Marathon started in 1976 but the historic Tour de Paris Marathon, which was inspired by the first modern Olympiad in Athens, took place in 1896. It was won by Brit Len Hurst in a time of 2:31:30.