What many suspected was confirmed. The Kenyan Eliud Kipchogetwo-time Olympic marathon champion, was announced this Wednesday will not compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Gamesan event he will attend “in a different capacity” to “encourage people to run”, and assured that going under 2 hours in the 42K “isn’t that far.”
“I will be in Los Angeles, but in a different capacity and not as a runner,” said the 39-year-old athlete in remarks to Sport Bild as reported by Europa Press. “I’m going to be there to help encourage people in the city to run,” he added.
Kipchoge, who will turn 43 at the next Games, suffered badly in this summer’s Paris 2024 marathon and had to withdraw due to back pain, something he did not expect. “You train for six months for a fight, then you’re in the ring and they knock you out after 30 seconds. That’s life. I accepted the result,” he acknowledged.
The athlete did not specify when he will end his career, while he believes that someone can go under 2 hours in an official marathon in the near future. “That time is not far away. We just need the right people to try.”
In 2019 in Vienna, the Kenyan became first person to run the marathon distance (42.195 km) in less than 2 hours. But his time of 1:59.40 is not considered an official record because it was done in an unofficial test, with hares and no rivals. Currently, the marathon world record belongs to the late Kelvin Kiptum with a mark of 2:00.35.
Source: La Verdad
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