New York, October 13, 2023 – Olympic medalist and former world champion Tamirat Tola and world bronze medalist Amedework Walelegn – both from Ethiopia – have been added to the men’s open division of the professional athlete field for the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 5.

Tola is a two-time medalist at the World Athletics Championships Marathon, having won gold in 2022 in a championship-record time of 2:05:36 and silver in 2017. Prior to that, he won bronze in the 10,000 meters at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Tola will be aiming for his first TCS New York City Marathon podium finish after placing fourth in his previous two appearances in 2018 and 2019.

Walelegn was the bronze medalist at the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships and has won the Seoul Marathon, Istanbul Half Marathon, and New Delhi Half Marathon.

Defending champion Evans Chebet (Kenya), two-time champion Geoffrey Kamworor (Kenya), two-time world championships silver medalist Mosinet Geremew (Ethiopia), 2022 world champion Gotytom Gebreslase (Ethiopia), last year’s runner-up Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (Israel) and 2022 London Marathon champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw (Ethiopia) have all scratched from the race.

The updated professional athlete fields for the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon can be found here.

The 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, Sunday, November 5, will have 50,000 runners and be televised live on WABC-TV Channel 7 in the New York tristate area, on ESPN2 across the U.S., and around the world by various international broadcasters.

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About New York Road Runners (NYRR)
NYRR’s mission is to help and inspire people through running. Since 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, virtual races, community events, free youth running initiatives and school programs, the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features a wide population of runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.