World record-holder is back in Germany in September ahead of a tilt at winning his third Olympic title in Paris in 2024
One year after slicing half a minute off his world record, Eliud Kipchoge will return to the BMW Berlin Marathon on September 24, aiming to become the first athlete in history to win the race five times.
The double Olympic champion has chosen Berlin for his autumn outing, as he feels this fast course provides the perfect preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Among his rivals will be Eliud Kipchoge’s Kenyan compatriot Amos Kipruto, who won the London Marathon last year and whose best is 2:03:13.
The event could also see Kipchoge face Kelvin Kiptum, the Kenyan who won the London Marathon in April in 2:01:25.
It also means both of last year’s winners will be on the start line to defend their titles in Berlin as Tigist Assefa, who improved the women’s course record with 2:15:37 in 2022, will also return.
“On my road to the Paris Olympic Games, I like to go back to the BWM Berlin Marathon, since to me this is the perfect preparation,” Kipchoge says. “I have great memories there and I look forward to running the streets of Berlin again, together with the thousands of runners that will join.”
Although Kipchoge’s most recent race saw him finish sixth in Boston in 2:09:23, he set the current world record of 2:01:09 a year ago on this German course.
A fifth triumph would see him move clear of Haile Gebrselassie, with no man having ever won five times in Berlin. A win would also come a fitting 20 years after his first global triumph, over 5000m at the 2003 World Championships in Paris.
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