Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan considered the greatest marathoner of all time, has confirmed that he will take part in the upcoming 2025 London Marathon in England, United Kingdom (UK).
With a heartening sense of optimism, despite failing to finish a marathon for the first time at the Paris 2024 Olympics, the long-distance runner has said that he is currently training rigorously for the race and will take to the streets of the British capital on April 27 with hopes of clinching his fifth title, after his 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019 wins.
“Sport is full of challenges. I’m still working hard to get better, trying to inspire people and sell the power of sport,” Kipchoge said.
> Man Utd’s Old Trafford Has Really Become old
“I still think I can compete. I am training in a good way and competing with the youngest people.”
Asked on Friday if the London Marathon could be his last race, the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion and former marathon world record holder from 2018 to 2023 set the record straight at a news conference:
“No. I will speak more when I finish the marathon. Now I’m focusing on training, purely on fitness and my muscles, to be ready for the start line in London. I don’t like to mix some things. I am learning to put all my mind on the road and put all my mind on making sure my muscles are lean and ready to combat the London streets. And the rest will come,” stated Kipchoge, according to AFP.
When pressed about retirement, the 40-year-old athlete added: “When you convince me that the world has become a running world, I will retire. When you have four billion people running every day, I will retire.”
In 2019, Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon of 42.195 km in a remarkable time of 1:59:40.2, becoming the first human to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon in the now-famous and historical INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria.
However, it wasn’t recognised as an official world record because it wasn’t an open competition. The late Kelvin Kiptum, who broke Kipchoge’s initial record, became the world record holder in the marathon, running the Chicago Marathon in 2:00:35 in 2023, months before his tragic death in a car crash in February 2024.
> Why CHAN 2024 Has Been Postponed
Leave a comment