Eliud Kipchoge: "A world where people run is a happier world"
Eliud Kipchoge (Kapsisiywa, Kenya, 1984), the best marathon runner in history, will receive the Princess of Asturias Sports Award this Friday at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo (6:30 p.m.), although first he has something more important to do. In the morning he will lead a huge group of children to run a few kilometers through Campo San Francisco in the Asturian city.. At 38 years old, after having won everything, he still harbors personal ambitions, but nothing motivates him more than inspiring young people, encouraging them to play sports, improving the world in his own way, one stride at a time.
“Since I started running I knew that it was something powerful, that by running you could achieve important things. It makes me very happy to receive the Princess of Asturias Award, it is a recognition of everything that I have deeply believed in throughout my career,” she comments in a brief chat with EL MUNDO before changing her usual tights and magic sneakers for a suit and some shoes.
His two Olympic gold medals in the marathon, his world records, the Vienna challenge in which he broke the two-hour barrier in an unofficial test. Do you feel like the job is done? I think I can still encourage more people to run, I still have things to do. I really think that a world where people run is a happier and more peaceful world.. This year he suffered in the Boston Marathon [sixth, 2:09:23] and shone in Berlin [victory, 2:02:42]. So used to winning, how much does it cost you to overcome a bad day? Of course Boston ended up being tough for me, but there are parallels between running and living. You have to know how to enjoy the good days and overcome the bad ones.. It is important to take care of your mental health to be happy.
Kipchoge receives the honor in Oviedo two weeks after losing a title he had held since 2018: the fastest man on the planet. Kelvin Kiptum, also a Kenyan, broke his marathon world record in Chicago (2:00:35) and took over in the race to demolish the two-hour wall in an approved race.. Despite the advancement of technology in footwear or nutrition, it seems unlikely that Kipchoge will seek a new record next year; Its objective is another.
At the Paris 2024 Games he will aspire to eternity. In the surroundings of the Seine, starting at the Hotel de Ville and finishing in Les Invalides, he will try to add his third consecutive Olympic gold and thus surpass the German Waldemar Cierpinski (1976 and 1980) and above all the Ethiopian legend Abebe Bikila (1960 and 1964). In the two previous Olympic events, Kipchoge barely encountered opposition and won with more than a minute advantage, but this time it is expected differently. Kiptum himself has already announced that he wants to be in the Games and Kenenisa Bekele will also try, who could run this December in the Valencia marathon to seek her place.
How much personal ambition is there in your goal of winning the third Olympic gold? It is a personal motivation, I cannot deny it. I would like to be the first to win three Olympic gold medals in the marathon. He has already confessed that he will never stop running, but…. Do you see yourself practicing other sports when you retire? I like many sports and I follow them as a spectator, but if I had to choose one, I would try playing tennis.
The date of Kipchoge's goodbye is unknown. Many years have passed since his debut as an international in the 2002 World Cross Country Championship, since his gold in the 5,000 meters at the 2003 World Cup and even since his debut in 2013 in the marathon, the distance that has given him the most glory, but still He has not announced when he will retire. The highest box on the podium at the Paris 2024 Games is understood as the best place.. or not.
A few years ago the Kenyan undertook the challenge of winning the six majors, the most prestigious marathons on the planet, and he still has Boston and New York to go. In Berlin he has won five times, in London four, and once in Chicago and Tokyo, but his resume has those two gaps. Perhaps he will seek the double in 2025. In any case, he already deserves the Princess of Asturias Sports Award that he will receive this Friday in Oviedo for his career and for his dedication to inspiring children like those who will run with him in the Campo San Francisco de the Asturian city.