Eliud Kipchoge: The Top 10 marathons of the double Olympic champion
His world record run and the two Olympic titles have been the highlights in the marathon career of the Kenyan legend.
Athletics
Eliud Kipchoge has rewritten marathon history many times over.
The double Olympic champion holds the world record and is the only runner who has broken the two-hour mark over the marathon distance (42.195km).
But what are the most important races in the legendary career of the Kenyan?
Olympics.com has put together a list of his top ten marathons.
2:05:30, 1st – Hamburg, April 2013
A year after making the switch to the roads from long-distance track, the Kenyan legend showed immense promise.
After timing 59:25 on his half marathon debut, Kipchoge scaled up to the 42km, and he didn't disappoint.
He won his first ever marathon race in 2:05:30, a course record and at the time, the sixth-fastest marathon debut in history.
2:04:11, 1st – Chicago, October 2014
The focus of the Kenyan’s first race in the USA was an expected duel pitting him against his long-standing rival on the track Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.
However, that didn’t happen as Bekele fell off the pace at the 32km mark, as Kipchoge dominated the race and sealed the win with a late surge in the last 2km.
That’s also when the world caught the first glimpse of his trademark grin through the last stages of a marathon run up to the finish line.
2:04:42, 1st – London, April 2015
His first London race was a thrilling duel with fellow Kenyan Wilson Kipsang.
The marathon billed as the 'Clash of the Champions' had seven top Kenyan runners, including two former world marathon record-holders in Kipsang and Dennis Kimetto.
Kipchoge again left it late, then peeled away from Kipsang with 2km to go. He sped off in the final 800m to win his first London title in emphatic fashion.
2:04:00, 1st – Berlin, September 2015
Beating two former world record holders in London gave Kipchoge the encouragement to attempt to break the world record in Berlin.
But his plan fell flat early in the race.
His shoe’s insole became loose and dropped off completely before the halfway mark. Most runners would have quit the race, but not Kipchoge.
Bloodied and with blistered feet, he persevered and won his first Berlin Marathon title.
2:03:05, 1st – London, April 2016
It was Kipchoge’s second consecutive victory at the London Marathon, and he confirmed his status as one of the best marathon runners in history with a brilliant race.
He clocked 2:03:05 and just missed the world record by eight seconds. He also passed the 30km point in the fastest time split ever, in 1:27:13.
2:08:44, 1st – Rio (Olympic Games), August 2016
Winning the Olympic gold in Rio 2016 ranks high in Kipchoge’s list of achievements.
He rounded off his set of Olympic medals after previously taking bronze and silver over 5000m.
The marathon title also made up for the disappointment of failing to make Kenya’s team for London 2012.
2:01:39, 1st – Berlin, September 2018
After winning several marathon titles, Kipchoge had always wished for one more thing – the world record.
He got it thanks to a perfectly executed run.
Running most of the race alone for about 17km after he had dropped the pacemakers at the halfway mark, the Kenyan smashed the world record by a minute and 18 seconds.
"I’ve now run 2:04, 2:03 and now 2:01. Who knows what the future will bring?” he posed after his win.
2:02:37, 1st – London, April 2019
The new world record holder returned to London seeking to rewrite history again.
He set a new course record and became the first man to win the event in the British capital four times.
1:59:40, INEOS 1:59 Challenge – Vienna, October 2019
After missing out on his target of completing a marathon under two hours in 2017, Kipchoge signed up for another experimental run in Vienna.
This time, his earlier prediction came true.
In a carefully choreographed run on the streets of Vienna, he became the first person to achieve a sub-two-hour marathon (1:59:40) and showed the world that indeed ‘no human is limited’.
2:08:38, 1st – Sapporo (Olympic Games), August 2021
Eliud Kipchoge proved his greatness with a fantastic and masterful defence of his Olympic title in Sapporo.
He became the third man in history to win two Olympic marathon gold medals. Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila clinched gold at the Rome 1960 and Tokyo 1964 Games, and East Germany's Waldemar Cierpinski won the Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980 Games.