Beat Eliud Kipchoge in a race? These 1000 people did just that
The double Olympic champion took part in a mass pursuit 5km race in Paris to mark 1000 Days to Go to the 2024 Olympic Games in the French capital, with 1000 people finishing ahead of him.
What does it feel like to beat Eliud Kipchoge in a race?
On Sunday (31 October), more than 1000 people got a taste of that very feeling after finishing ahead of the Kenyan marathon great in a 5km pursuit race in Paris, a special event organised by Paris 2024 to celebrate 1000 Days to Go until the French capital welcomes the Olympic Games.
The double Olympic marathon champion and world record holder over 42.195km was the last man to start the 5km race – but still overtook more than half the field in 14 minutes and 25 seconds.
For Kipchoge, it was a return to the distance in which he was world champion – albeit on the track – in 2003 and a two-time Olympic medallist (silver in 2008 and bronze in 2004).
But the thousand-or-so runners who finished ahead of the legend, having been given a head-start and held on to their lead, were rewarded with a spot in the mass public marathon that will be held on the same day and on the same course as the Olympic race in three years' time.
On a cloudy morning in Paris, nearly 3,500 people set off in five tranches ahead of Kipchoge in hopes of staying ahead of the 36-year-old.
While Kipchoge, the only man to have run the marathon distance in under two hours, has not yet decided if he will race at Paris 2024, on Sunday he joined in the festivities on the Champs-Elysees.
"I'm very happy to have done this race," he said. "The crowd was fantastic. At the end, it was fun to see people sprint and go all out to cross the line."
For the unlucky ones who did not manage to avoid being overtaken by Kipchoge, this won't be the end of their chances to take part in the Paris 2024 mass marathon.
More events are planned in the 999 days that remain between now and the Opening Ceremony.