TOKYO 2020: Peerless Kipchoge retains Olympic marathon title

Eliud Kipchoge displayed yet another spectacular show as he romped to victory to retain the Olympic Marathon in Sapporo Odori Park, Japan and consequently, became the third man in history to defend the Olympic Marathon.

The record holder was in a class of his own as he blew away the competition from the rest to win the race at two hours eight minutes and 38 seconds joining Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila and Germany's Waldemar Cierpinski as the marathoners who have successfully defended their Olympic crowns.

Dutchman Abdi Nageeye Abdi won silver after out-sprinting Lawrence Cherono in the final twenty minutes while Abdi Bashir who also overtook the latter to the tape of Belgium was third. Nageeye who was born in Somalia timed a season best of 2:09:58 while Bashir posted 2:10:00. Cherono finished at 2:10:02.

Kipchoge, who now has four Olympic medals, surged forward at the 30 kilometre mark, showing the rest a clean pair of heels to win the race by a margin of one minute and twenty seconds, the biggest since Frank Shorter's win in 1972.

Prior to the powerful kick, the decorated marathoner who was clustered by a number of seasoned athletes had enjoyed the company of his compatriots: Cherono and the World bronze Medalist Amos Kipruto.

The hot and humid conditions in Sapporo saw a whooping thirty athletes whose majority were seeking to upset the first man to have run the race in under two hours.

Reigning London Marathon champion Shura Kitata who dethroned Kipchoge last year dropped hardly nine kilometres in the race with a suspected hamstring injury.He was followed by the 2012 Games champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda who slowed down at the 11km mark with his arms wrapped around his tummy and would leave the course minutes later. 

Another Ethiopian Sisay Lemma limped off after 23 kilometres while Brazilian Daniel Do Nascimento who enjoyed the rare opportunity of rubbing shoulders with Kipchoge and could be seen cracking a smile with him failed to finish. Kipruto dropped at the 37 kilometre mark.

The first fifteen kilometres of the race were covered in 45 minutes with Kipchoge still leading a sizable number of the leading athletes who covered 19 kilometres in one hour.

Kipchoge unleashed the beast mode after thirty kilometres and pulled all the way to the tape to ensure that Kenya bags her fourth gold medal and the tenth in the Games.