Eliud Kipchoge, the undisputed marathon GOAT, will return to the streets of London in April where he hopes to strike up a friendship with British marathon debutant Alex Yee, who is also an Olympic triathlon champion.
In a major coup for London Marathon organizers, an elite field that already included every Olympic and Paralympic champion, as well as Britain’s top distance runners Emile Cairess and Eilish McColgan, has its icing on the cake .
Kipchoge, now 40, is a two-time Olympic champion, winner of an unprecedented 13 “major marathons” and, perhaps most famously, became the first person to run the 26.2-mile distance in less than two hours in 2019.
Yee, who will make a bold attempt to transition from triathlon to join his first elite marathon group, is a big fan of Kipchoge and the respect after the Briton’s spectacular Olympic triathlon triumph in Paris is clearly mutual.
When told this week that Yee wanted to meet him, Kipchoge said: “I would like to know him more. I would like to meet him before the race and share the life we live…share a meal, have a coffee, tell him what I believe about running and why running will actually help the whole world.
“The discussion will focus on humanity, on the love of the sport of running. How are we going to sell the sport of running? I think it will be a pure discussion.
As well as being a prolific champion, who also won a world 5,000m track title in 2003, Kipchoge is a strong advocate of community running and says his motivation now comes from the inspiration he can provide.
“It’s what helps me wake up every morning, get out and run – it’s purely about the love of the sport,” he said. When asked when he would retire, Kipchoge replied: “When the world becomes a running world – when four billion people run every day. »
Kipchoge, who was forced to abandon the Paris Olympic marathon shortly after 13 miles due to a back injury, has not run since but believes he can still compete for what would be a record fifth victory in the London Marathon.
“Running isn’t always straight – sometimes you can hit a bump,” he said. “My recovery went well. I train well and I can compete with the younger guys.
“In Africa we say we chase one rabbit at a time. This rabbit in front of me is London. This is purely what my mind, my heart and all my energy is based on. After that, I will make a new announcement.
The new Olympic marathon champion is Tamirat Tola, who will also race in London where Britain’s Cairess, fourth in Paris and third last year in London, could likely end what is now 32 years as a British male winner.
There is also a tantalizing women’s field which includes Sifan Hassan – Olympic marathon champion and also double track medalist in Paris – and Ruth Chepngetich, who last year became the first woman to run a marathon in under 2h10. McColgan, the Commonwealth 10,000m champion, will also make her long-awaited marathon debut in a race that her mother, Liz, won in 1996.