"I'd like to do as little research as possible in this story" - Fans slam Wall Street Journal for calling Tamirat Tola "Ethiopian Man" in headline

The Wall Street Journal’s headline on athlete Tamirat Tola has been receiving immense backlash from fans. On November 6, it published an article on the athlete on its front page. However, fans were unimpressed by the publication addressing Tamirat Tola as an ‘Ethiopian Man’ and not by his name.

On Sunday, November 5, the 2022 world champion Tamirat Tola created history by winning the men’s race at the New York Marathon. The 32-year-old finished the race within 2:04.58, leaving behind second-placed Albert Korir and third-placed Shura Kitara. Moreover, Tola broke the 12-year record set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. He ran eight seconds faster than the Kenyan athlete whose timing was 2:05:06.

This was Tola’s first win in the New York Marathon. Previously, he competed at the prestigious marathon three times and only managed to come fourth in 2018 and 2019. So, his recent win is indeed a milestone achievement for his career.

Recently, when the Wall Street Journal attempted to report on the athlete’s win, it received immense criticism for its headline, ‘Ethiopian Man Wins NYC Marathon in Record Time’.

Fans on X (previously known as Twitter) condemned the publication for not using Tamirat Tola’s name in the headline. One of the users wrote:

"Headline writer: “i’d like to do as little research as possible in this story”"

Another user wrote:

"Luckily, Ethiopians don't have names. Otherwise, the Wall Street Journal would look like idiots running this headline."

Take a look at more such comments:

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A look at Tamirat Tola’s achievements

Tola at 2023 TCS New York City Marathon

Ethiopian athlete Tamirat Tola initially started his career as a half marathoner in 2013. He made his half-marathon debut at Agadir and then kept on improving his timing by competing in other championships.

Eventually, Tola made his marathon debut at the Dubai Marathon, where he finished fourth with a time of 2:06:17 hours. Tola continued competing in marathons and won the Ethiopian national title in cross country in 2015. It provided him with an opportunity to compete internationally at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He finished sixth in the senior race.

In 2016, he again competed in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and finished fifth. In 2017, Tamitat won the silver medal at the world championship by clocking a time of 2:09:49 in the marathon. Moreover, he improved his timing to 2:05:36 when he won the 2022 world championships.

Tola also boasts a bronze medal in the 10,000m race at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Besides winning the New York Marathon, he previously won bronze medals at Tokyo Marathon in 2022 and London Marathon in 2023.