Image copyright: Getty Images
2020 Summer Olympic Games
23 July – 8 August 2021
Tokyo, Japan
Eliud Kipchoge will look to further entrench his status as the greatest ever long-distance runner when he chases a second successive Men’s Marathon title at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games. The Men’s Marathon will be run in Sapporo, north of Tokyo, on the final day of the Games, Sunday 8 August.
Kenyan Kipchoge is not only the reigning Olympic champion, but also the world-record holder (2:01:39) and the first person to unofficially run the Marathon distance in under two hours. A win at the NN Mission Marathon in the Netherlands earlier this year further underlined his favourite status for the 42km race at the Tokyo Games.
"I am still hungry for running in the Olympic Games and winning a Gold Medal, so I still feel fresh every time I wake up," the 36-year-old explained. "Actually if I win a Gold Medal this will be the highest [in terms of achievement]. I really value Olympic games and I am really fighting for it and I am really training for it.”
Image copyright: Getty Images
Kipchoge added he was ready for the heat in Sapporo, pointing out that everyone will have to contend with the same conditions. "All of us will be on the same frying pan," he said. "The best one will win."
The Kenyan said was disappointed by the decision not to have fans at the Games, but respects why the decision was made: "I would be more happy if actually all these challenges could not be there and fans could actually be lining up on the road to cheer us, give us hope, we give them hope about the world, running is about hope. But all in all, we respect the authorities.”
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Kipchoge’s main threats will likely come from his Kenyan teammates Lawrence Cherono and Amos Kipruto, as well as Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich (the 2012 Olympic Marathon champion), Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata (who won last year’s London Marathon), and the Japanese pair of Shogo Nakamura and Suguru Osako.
“This Marathon coming up is similar to most of the competitions I’ve been running,” said Kiprotich. “I have been training well but this pandemic has been hindering us because we used to move from place to place. I have been preparing well. It doesn’t matter where you are in the rankings – that doesn’t prevent you from winning a Medal.”
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