The final days of Eliud Kipchoge: How much more can he give to the running world?

We did this article last spring. 

In his third Olympic marathon (his fifth Olympic team, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2020, 20224), Eliud Kipchoge walked around 28k for several minutes, then ran to 30k, hit in 1:39.50 before he retired. 

Eliud Kipchoge is a warrior. He told the Olympic media that he would no longer compete in the Olympics. It looked as if Eliud had cramps early on. 

We wish him a speedy recovery. 

This piece should remind us of what Eliud has done for the sport. 

The final days of Eliud Kipchoge: How much more can he give to the running world?

Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest marathoner that has ever lived. No doubt. When Pheidippides became the first man to run the marathon over 2,000 years ago, no one would have ever thought a human being would ever break the sub-2-hour barrier in the event. But it happened under our eyes when Kipchoge ran 1:59.40 in Austria just over four years ago. 

As we all know, that didn’t count as an official world record, but the fact that Kipchoge attempted it and did speaks volumes of how the Kenyan has transcended the world of running during his peak years. 16 out of 19 marathon wins is just beyond imagination, and when you think about the myth that the first man to finish a marathon died, it’s safe to say Kipchoge has given us great memories in the nearly ten years he has been running the 26.2-mile race. 

The thing is, all good things come to an end, eventually. Even the best in sporting history had fallible moments, and knowing when to call it quits is crucial. The signs always creep up slowly, but they come, and although one can be in denial, it eventually comes simply because we are humans and our bodies age. 

The first sign Kipchoge got was seeing his countryman Kelvin Kiptum break his marathon world record in Chicago, a few days after he ran in Berlin, running a time of 2:00.35. No one expected the 23-year-old to take down the world record in only his third marathon race. But it happened. And, although Kipchoge hasn’t responded, deep down, he knows someone is coming to knock him off his perch. All he has to do now is to deliver at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but that might seem the hard part. 

Kipchoge’s climb to the top of marathon greatness wasn’t as meteoric and stellar as many would seem to think. His career on the track didn’t…