Eliud Kipchoge has had many memorable moments in a career defined by incredibly big ambitions.
The double Olympic champion has already proved he is one of the greatest marathoners in history.
The 37-year-old holds both the official marathon world record (with a 2:01:39 run at Berlin 2018) and the unofficial fastest time running the distance in under two hours.
On 6 March 2022 in downtown Tokyo, Kipchoge will continue to write the next chapter of his legacy, with a first appearance at the Tokyo Marathon.
Kipchoge is the unprecedented four-time London marathon champion, he’s conquered the Berlin marathon thrice, and early in his marathon career, he won the 2014 Chicago marathon.
But the Kenyan legend still wants more, and that’s what sets him apart.
His constant desire to “press on, and press on, and press on.” Like the zen master he’s normally compared to, the athletics star likes to grab every opportunity.
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Defending his title at Tokyo 2020 made him one of three men to have retained their Olympic marathon titles (after Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila in 1960 and 1964 and East Germany’s Waldemar Cierpinski in 1976 and 1980).
Paris 2024 offers the world record holder an opportunity for an Olympic marathon hat-trick.
“I still have something boiling in my stomach that’s why I am looking forward to it,” he said when he confirmed he plans to chase an unprecedented third straight Olympic gold.
A trailblazer, driven by the desire embodied by his mantra “no human is limited”.
“The concept that no human is limited is a very cool idea and it’s not only about sport,” he said in an interview with Bigissue.com shortly after defending his Olympic title.
“Performance is not only in sport, performance is even in the office. That’s why I’m happy with what’s going on in the world now when we see Sir Richard Branson flying into space and Jeff Bezos going into space on a different flight.
“When you see people can think like this, you know we have no limitations at all. Let us press on, and press on, and press on.”
If he succeeds in Paris, there will be many firsts.
Besides being the only man with three Olympic marathon titles, Kipchoge – who in August 2024 will be close to 40 – could become the oldest Olympic marathon gold medallist.
Kipchoge: “Living the Olympic dream”
Another motivation for Kipchoge in Paris would be to medal at a third consecutive Games.
The 5000m world champion back in 2003 craved more Olympic glory on the track after the bronze he took at Athens 2004 and the silver from Beijing 2008.
But he finished seventh in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the Kenyan Trials for London 2012 and was not considered for a wild card.
Guided by his coach Patrick Sang, an Olympic silver medallist, Kipchoge found value in failure and decided to move from the track to the roads.
It paid off with one of the fastest marathon debuts in Rotterdam in 2013, which started his dominance on the major city marathons.
In a country where squad selection can sometimes be more competitive than the Olympics, he managed to get practically a guaranteed slot in the Kenyan national team for both Rio 2016 and later Tokyo 2020.
The Olympic dream is a special dream. For every athlete here it has taken a lifetime of preparation to get to this point. Today I lived my Olympic dream. I always say that sport is like life, whereby you can win and lose. But today was a day where I won. pic.twitter.com/vDzYKcH8Yg
— Eliud Kipchoge – EGH🇰🇪 (@EliudKipchoge) August 8, 2021
When will Kipchoge be in action at the Tokyo Marathon?
The event will start at 9:10am local time (1:10 CET; 19:10 on 5 March ET).
Does this mark the start of a long conclusion to Kipchoge’s career in the French capital in 2024?
“The end of my career will come automatically that’s for sure, that’s in front of my mind, but for now I still want to compete more,” he said after the Tokyo 2022 Olympics.
“I still want to go around the world and run, inspire people.”
Source: olympics.com
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