Eliud Kipchoge on a mission to inspire next generation of athletes

This year’s Olympics will mark exactly two decades since double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge made his Olympic debut.

The 43-year-old made his debut in Athens in 2004 where he won the 5,000m bronze medal before upgrading to silver four years later in Beijing in the same event.

By 2008, Kipchoge had already been an established name in distance running, boasting two world championship medals and two at the Olympics. He was still only 23 years old.

Fast forward, the legendary marathoner will be leading team Kenya to the Paris Olympics together with a strong contingent that includes 2024 TCS London Marathon champion Alex Mutiso and 2022 Chicago Marathon winner Benson Kipruto.

Speaking on the growth so far, Kipchoge noted that longevity and consistency in the sport was the key to endless possibilities.

He aims at setting the standards for the upcoming generation of athletes; inspiring them to expose their careers to the highest possible levels.

“It is 20 years apart and it is about what I need in life. My aim is to tell everybody who is running that it is not about going outside the country, getting the money and coming back. It is about exposing your career and living a good life. If all of us can do that, then sports can be a real profession and bring many things to the country. Longevity brings lots of opportunities,” the inspirational marathoner offered.

Besides setting the bar for the young generation, Kipchoge foresees a future where athletes would take up running as a profession; and run like their lives depended on it.

Kipchoge asked them to give athletics their all and watch as doors of opportunities opened.

“I am feeling good. I am happy that I am showing the next generation what to do. That running is a profession; it is not coming in for three years and going away. Longevity is what you need. We should let athletes know that running is a profession; tell them the advantages and disadvantages,” he said after the selection.

At the same time, the marathoner who will be going for his third Olympic title was confident that teamwork will work wonders in bringing the coveted medals hope. He noted that they would put their best feet forward during training to make the all-Kenyan medal podium come true.

“I am grateful to Athletics Kenya and the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) for including us in the team. For the next three months, we are going to train well and go represent our country to the fullest. We are going to Paris as a team; this is not a World Major Marathon; it is the Olympic games,” he averred.

Eliud Kipchoge reitarates on the importance of teamwork ahead of Paris Olympics

This race will glue fans to their screens as Kipchoge renews rivalry with 2024 Tokyo Marathon champion Kipruto.

Kipruto outclassed his opponent during the Tokyo marathon to win in 2:02:16.

The result moved him to fifth on the marathon all-time-list. Kipchoge recorded his worst-ever marathon finish after coming in 10th in 2:06:16.

The poor performance evoked memories of the 2023 Boston Marathon where Kipchoge was at the center of criticism after he finished sixth in 2:09:23.

Five months later, in September, he showed the world who is King after comfortably bouncing back to claim top spot in the BMW Berlin Marathon where he obliterated a strong field to complete the course in 2:02:42.

It is now a matter of wait-and-see as Kenyans anticipate a major comeback from the Kaptagat-based runner.

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