Elite marathoner Eliud Kipchoge has finally broken his silence on Kelvin Kiptum, a week after missing his fellow marathoner Kelvin Kiptum’s funeral in Eldoret.
Kipchoge Speaking during a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, March 1, on Kelvin Kiptum, he described the late as a resilient athlete whose career was at the peak.
“His career was flourishing, and he was truly performing at an elite level. It was unfortunate as there were high expectations from him.”
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Kipchoge who is preparing for his second return to the Tokyo Marathon, an event he dominated in 2021, Kipchoge paid tribute to Kiptum, acknowledging the unfortunate event that befell his fellow athlete.
However, he further also clarified that the July 2024 Olympics won’t be the same without Kiptum even though he hasn’t started training for the race himself.
Although Kiptum only competed in three marathons, he won all of them and posted three of the seven fastest times in history breaking Kipchoge’s record as the world fastest marathoner.
Kipchoge said this year’s Olympic marathon would be “a little bit different” following Kiptum’s death.
“There were high expectations,” said Kipchoge, who won Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Games and again five years later at the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics.
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Kiptum died just months after beating Kipchoge’s world record and the two were expected to face off for the first time at this year’s Paris Olympics. Kipchoge will thus face off with other kenyans like Vincent Ngetich, Timothy Kiplagat and Benson Kipruto.
This will also be the first race that Kipchoge will participate in since Kenyan compatriot Kiptum was killed on February 11 at the age of 24. Although there heve been speculations, Kipchoge has chosen to focus on the marathon and his career.