Kipchoge gunning for third World Athletics Award

World marathon record holder, Eliud Kipchoge will, on 1 December, be looking to have his name in the history books as one of the only three male athletes to have won the World Athletics (WA) Male World Athlete of the Year Award more than twice.

Kipchoge won the award back-to-back in 2018 and 2019 to become the second Kenyan to be named the best in athletics after David Rudisha in 2010. The other two who have won more than twice are sprinter Usain Bolt who is a six-time winner and Hicham El Guerrouj, the current 1500m world record holder, who has won three times. 

The marathoner will battle it out for the award with Olympic 5000m champion Joshua Cheptegei, Olympic and Diamond League shot put champion Ryan Crouser, Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis, and Olympic 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm. 

In 2021, Kipchoge, the only man to have run a marathon in under two hours produced two stunning performances over the classic distance. His first was in Enschede at the NN Mission Marathon event, a race created to provide an opportunity to athletes seeking a qualifying performance for the Olympic Games. As such, it attracted a high-quality international field. 

Kipchoge’s place on Kenya’s Olympic team had already been confirmed, but he was keen for a competitive run-out ahead of the Games. He ran as part of the lead pack through 15km (43:46) and halfway (1:01:43), and then had just two pacemakers for company by the time he reached 30km (1:28:10). Shortly after, with 1:35 on the clock, Kipchoge left his pacemakers behind. 

His tempo didn’t actually increase in the closing stages, but he maintained his sub-three-minute kilometre pace, which brought him to the finish line in a world-leading 2:04:30, winning by more than two minutes. 

“Mission accomplished,” said Kipchoge. “The conditions were really good, a bit windy, but I had no complaints. The race was perfect.”

Four months later, Kipchoge lined up in Sapporo for the Olympic marathon alongside 105 of the world’s best distance runners as he looked to become just the third man in history to win back-to-back titles over the distance. 

Kipchoge among five finalists for Male World Athlete of the Year Award

In Rio, when he won his first Olympic title, Kipchoge waited until the 36km to break away. In Sapporo, his decisive move came at the 31km mark. At the 38km mark, he closely resembled a solitary figure out on a morning training run than a man leading the Olympic marathon. He'd built a lead of more than one minute by that point, with no other runner within view. 

Despite the tough conditions, Kipchoge won in 2:08:38, six seconds quicker than his Rio victory and the fifth-fastest run in Olympic history. His winning margin of 1:20 was the biggest in an Olympic men’s marathon since Frank Shorter's win in 1972. 

“I think I have fulfilled the legacy by winning the marathon for the second time, back-to-back,” said Kipchoge. “I hope this helps to inspire the next generation.”