Eliud Kipchoge timetable and preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics

Eliud Kipchoge returns to Japan, the country where he secured his second Olympic gold, to compete at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon.

The allure of a fifth Olympic medal and the pursuit of a fifth straight win are keeping him motivated.

He will bring the same dedication and hunger that have defined his exceptional marathon career as he starts as the favourite in Tokyo on Sunday, 3 March.

The 39-year-old is almost assured of his place in the competitive Kenyan team for the Paris 2024 Olympics, both as the defending champion and the second-fastest man ever.

He is meticulously planning for his attempt for a third consecutive marathon gold and has even opted for an unusually earlier spring marathon in an Olympic year.

“I promised the Japanese people that I would go back for the Tokyo Marathon,” he explained of his choice for the Tokyo Marathon. “I am looking forward to running fast again and enjoy.”

Going back to Tokyo, where he set the course record in 2021, not only fits well into his competition schedule before Paris, but also allows for a much-needed longer recovery time ahead of the Olympics marathon on 10 August.

Eliud Kipchoge returns to Japan for one more test before Paris 2024

A lot has changed for the Kenyan since his last marathon in Berlin last year. He is no longer the fastest man over the distance, as the honour now belongs to the late Kelvin Kiptum, who tragically lost his life in a road accident on 11 February.

Kiptum’s death rightfully dominated headlines in the run-up to the Tokyo Marathon.

In some ways, Kipchoge will hope to pay tribute to his fallen compatriot, who holds the world record of two hours 35 seconds from the 2023 Chicago Marathon.

Kiptum’s record-breaking run reignited the dream and the possibility of a sub-two-hour men’s marathon, even for the two-time Olympic champion.

“I am still hungry of running fast,” Kipchoge who’s based out of his remote training camp in Kaptagat in the Kenyan highlands, shared of his future marathon plans last October.

"I am trying to push my limits all the time. I believe in every race, I have an opportunity to push any limit [possible]. That’s the beauty of training, you need to put in action what you have been doing for five-six months."

In 2019, Kipchoge made history with his unofficial time of 1:59:40 in Vienna, marking the fastest marathon ever run. He missed breaking the world record for a third time when he became the first man to win the Berlin Marathon for a record fifth time last September.

Kipchoge’s fifth victory in the German capital secured him five of the ten fastest all-time performances, further solidifying his greatness after his unexpected sixth-place finish in Boston back in April.

“After Berlin, I made sure I recover, go for some light jogging, got a massage, and take a real break no running at all. And then pick up again,” he detailed in an interview with his NN Running Team.

More recovery time for Eliud Kipchoge before Paris

Despite his gradually reduced training output and performance, the former world marathon record holder, who has been racing competing for the past 22 years, understands that even with his unstoppable mind and passionate spirit, his body now needs more recovery time.

With an additional month or so, Kipchoge, who will be just a few months shy of 40 in Paris, aims to position himself in optimum conditions as he looks to cement his legendary status by surpassing Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, and Waldemar Cierpinski, the only other two men with two Olympic marathon titles.

“Three people have now won it twice, including myself, and I will be working really hard to make sure that I win for the third time… back-to-back-to-back. It’s about making history; it’s about inspiring a generation. It's about telling people that longevity in sport is possible as far as inspiration is concerned,” Kipchoge said of his Paris plans.

Prior to his first Olympic victory in Rio in August 2016, he broke the course record, winning his second London Marathon in April that year.

Before the Tokyo Olympics, his NN Marathon team staged a spring marathon in Enschede, again in April 2021.

The win in the Netherlands was a perfect morale-boosting, just eight’s months after his lowest marathon finish (8^th) in London the previous year. And at the Olympics that year, the marathon master went on to record the largest margin of victory (80 seconds) at the Games since 1972.

His fourth Olympic medal, after bronze and silver from the 5000m runs n Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

Barring injury, his position in the Kenyan team for Paris is almost guaranteed, and a win in Tokyo will just secure it.

Unlike the Ethiopians who have in the past held a mini-marathon trials for its shortlisted Olympics probables, Athletics Kenya will pick its four runners from a provisional squad of nine released last December, that also included the late Kiptum.

Being the fastest living marathoner with unmatched Olympic marathon experience, Kipchoge should undoubtedly top the list.