Eliud Kipchoge wrote another history as the third man to defend his Olympic title when he defended his Olympic title at the Tokyo Olympics Games.
The 36-year-old Kenyan crossed the finish in a time of 2:08:38, to cement his status as the greatest long distance runner in history.
He joins the special club two of those who defended their Olympic titles in the marathon, Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia (1960, 1964) and East Germany’s Waldemar Cierpinski (1976, 1980).
Eliud Kipchoge defends his Olympic marathon title. Photo Creditd: Getty Images
He also holds the official world record with a time 2:01.39 that he set in 2018 and is the only human ever to have completed the 42km run in under two hours, which he did in an unofficial event in 2019.
Kipchoge was followed by Abdi Negeeye of Netherlands, who crossed the line in 2:09.58 to the take silver while Bashir Abdi of Belgium settled for bronze.
“Firstly I want to say thank you to everyone for the support and to those that made the Olympics, Tokyo 2020 happen,” Kipchoge told the BBC after his race win.
“I am happy to defend my title and to show the next generation, if you respect the sport and be disciplined you can accomplish your assignment.
“It was not really easy, but it was really hard for everybody if you consider the weather. I am happy to cross the finishing line as the fastest.
“Tokyo 2020 has happened, it is means a lot, it means there is hope. It means we are on the right track to a normal life. So we are on the track to our normal lives that is the meaning of the Olympics.
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