Eliud KIPCHOGE

He has performed exceptionally in the Olympic Games, winning back-to-back gold medals at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 marathons. The distance legend is the third man in history to clinch two Olympic marathon titles., and he's aiming for a third at Paris 2024.

Kipchoge made his Olympic debut in Athens 2004, a year after bursting onto the international scene, winning the 5,000m world title as an 18-year-old.

Kipchoge always seemed destined for greatness with his victory over Moroccan middle-distance legend Hicham El Guerrouj and Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele at the 2003 World Championships in Paris.

He won the 5,000m bronze medal on his Olympic debut in Athens 2004 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.

Eliud Kipchoge: Racing into the record books

Kipchoge's dedication and tenacity have been evident in his world record-breaking accomplishments. The Kenyan icon raced into the record books at the 2018 Berlin Marathon, lowering the previous global mark held by compatriot Dennis Kimetto by 1:18 with a time of 2:01:39.

On 25 September 2022, at the age of 37, he set a new official record of 2:01.09 before the late Kelvin Kiptum became the world's fastest man over the distance at the 2023 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:00:35.

Kipchoge entered the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon with the goal of becoming the first man in history to win three gold medals in the event. However, after suffering discomfort during the race, the great Kenyan bowed out at around the 30km mark, later confirming to Olympics.com that Paris would be his last Olympic marathon.

“You will see me in a different way,” he said. “Maybe giving people motivation, but I will not run."