“I didn’t think I could run" - Daniel Mateiko on late athletics start and training with Eliud Kipchoge with Paris 2024 aim
Daniel Mateiko got into running in a somewhat accidental manner.
Despite being born into a family of runners, the Kenyan took up athletics in high school at the insistence of his sister Valentine Mateiko, who was already a world-class runner.
“She really insisted and forced me to run, and that’s how I discovered I can become an athlete,” he said, flashing a smile, clearly content to have followed his sisters’ advice which has since set him on a path of success in life and athletics glory.
“I didn’t think I could run, but she insisted,” Mateiko told the Olympic Channel in an exclusive interview from his training base in Kaptagat where he trains with double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge under the guidance of celebrated coach Patrick Sang.
He only took up running seriously four years ago, and immediately carved his niche as a half marathoner and track athlete.
Just a year after, in 2022, he achieved something so many Kenyan runners still dream of, a top three at the trials, earning a spot to the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Mateiko is gearing up for what could be another big race at the 2024 Diamond League Prefontaine Classic, where Kenya will select its 10,000m Olympic teams for Paris 2024.
Last February, he won the Ras Al Khaimah half-marathon, his second international career triumph, and feels confident he can contend for a spot on Team Kenya’s team.
“It will mean a lot to me to qualify for my first Olympics team.”
Daniel Mateiko on finding his stride
Mateiko grew up in Mount Elgon, an area in western Kenya on the boarder with Uganda.
But even the picturesque high-altitude surroundings that have proved to be an ideal training ground for hundreds of athletes across both sides of the terrain, did not entice him to run.
“Yes, my sister [had won bronze] at the world juniors in Oregon, but I didn’t think I could run.
“But she insisted, and she is the one who forced me to run, and that’s how I discovered I can become an athlete.”
The teenager, who never pictured himself as a track athlete, entered the world of running without prior experience and intent. The decision changed his life.
He started training, trying to get the hang of running, something he was naturally cut out for and having inherited endurance-related genes.
“My father was a runner, my mother too…but they didn’t reach world-class, but what I have heard is that they had the talent. My dad did 10,000m.”
Mateiko liked going the distance, and it wasn’t long before he got to love the sport even more.
On track, he started out as a 5000m runner, however it’s the road runs that fuelled his passion for the sport. In 2019, he finished fifth over 5000m at the Kenyan championships but when he won his first race, a half-marathon in Eldama Ravine in Kenya, it was the perfect motivation to keep going.
The covid pandemic may have slowed his momentum, but it ignited a championship desire in him. He attempted to make the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021, finishing fifth at the 10,000m in the track trials in Nairobi, then turned to the roads, registering third place finishes at both the Copenhagen and Valencia Half Marathons.
His 58:26 from the Spanish city is still his fastest to date.
“I feel I can be a multipurpose runner, doing both road and track, though I feel track is harder. The lapping is quite hard, imagine running 25 laps in the same place,” he explained.
He had an amazing progression in 2022, making the Kenya team to the World Championships in Budapest and finishing eighth.
Then the lure of the marathon grew in him, aided by training with some of the best over the distance, like Kipchoge.
Daniel Mateiko's marathon lessons from the 2023 Chicago Marathon
What he lacked in experience, he made up for with some daring runs on what’s considered the real test of endurance on the roads.
Making his marathon debut at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, Mateiko boldly helped push the pace alongside the late Kelvin Kiptum from about the 5km mark and managed to hold until just after 30km.
Even though Kiptum’s blistering world record pace took a toll on him, he took steps back and learnt from it.
“After Chicago, I learnt a lot, especially about failure,” he said of last October's race when Kiptum posted the incredible new marathon mark of 2:00:35.
“Kiptum was the strongest that day, and that’s how sport is. Even if I didn’t achieve anything in Chicago, but Kiptum broke the world record, I was happy because I [somehow] contributed to that fast mark, as I was only aiming for a personal best, though I didn’t make it.”
His second attempt at the marathon distance in London last month ended up with another DNF [did not finish] next to his name, which forced him to refocus his plans for the season.
“I am still young, my marathon journey is just starting…” he reckoned.
“All these are part of my learning process, the more I fail, the more I am hungry to do well in the future. I still have many more years to come, so all these are stepping stones. Fail now, but tomorrow is another day I have to achieve.”
Daniel Mateiko training at the Global Sports Training Camp in Kaptagat.
Daniel Mateiko on Olympic hopes and his mentor Eliud Kipchoge
Mateiko runs the 10,000m at Hayward Field on 25 May in an event that doubles as the Kenyan trials, with the aim of making the Olympic team at the distance. Training at the Global Sports Communication training camp in Kenya’s famed Rift Valley has provided him access to support services he would otherwise struggle to afford as an upcoming athlete.
“Here we have a good system, good management and coaches. The team is also good, that also motivates. Someone like Eliud, he has played a crucial role in my athletics career,” he expounded in the exclusive chat with Olympic Channel after a 40km early morning long run with his teammates that also included Kipchoge, sessions that have had a great impact on his training mindset.
“I am in the right place, training with my mentor [Kipchoge], he trains me physically but also mentally to be able to deal with the challenges of sport. He teaches me a lot. He teaches me that sport is not about today, but that what you do today will determine what you will be tomorrow and in the future.”
As he readies to get back to his training camp routine, he admits such moments still feel very surreal and is grateful for what his life has become over the last four years.
“I really thank my sister because [she got me in athletics] and I started dreaming big. I now have big goals and still aiming high.
“My dream is to be a world-class marathoner and taste how the people feel to break the barriers there.”