Grace Sugut: Meet Eliud Kipchoge’s prayer warrior who plays a key role in his success

Grace Sugut: Meet Eliud Kipchoge’s prayer warrior who plays a key role in his success

Joel Omotto 11:20 - 18.06.2024

Eliud Kipchoge has broken numerous records while setting milestones and he prepares to make further history at the Olympics, he is grateful to have a wife who pushes him to succeed.

Two-time Olympics marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge is preparing to make further history by becoming the first man to win three straight Olympics gold medals.

The marathon great has intensified his training with all his focus on the Paris 2024 Olympics and just like he has done for over 20 years of his career, Kipchoge spends six of the seven days in a week away from home.

This allows him to only focus on training without other distractions. For a family man, this can be tough given the different responsibilities he has to juggle at home.

However, the father of three is grateful that he has a partner who takes care of the rest while he is away in camp plotting how to break more marathon records and making history.

That is Grace Sugut, his wife and key support system. Just like Kipchoge, Sugut also prefers to stay away from the limelight and is only seen on special occasions either accompanying her husband to a major event or cheering him.

Grace and Kipchoge have known each other for a long time. They went to school together and her brother was the marathon legend’s friend.

“I was 19 when I fell in love with Eliud. See, we were schoolmates and neighbours. My brother Amos was also his best friend. We both adore humility and this drew us together,” Grace said in a past interview with The Standard.

The couple have been married for nearly 19 years and have three children together Lynne, Griffin, and Gordon. Like their parents, humility is key for the children whose education the couple takes very seriously

Unlike other wives of famous sportsmen, who spend most of their time globetrotting and spotting the latest designer outfits, Grace is the complete opposite. She keeps it simple and is not uncommon for her to join her workers in the farm or going to the market to buy cattle feed.

“I studied with Eliud all his life, from primary to high school. I am the wife and have been his supporter throughout his career. When he is away running, I take care of the children and the farm," she told JKL.

Whether it is down to the responsibilities at home or just her humble nature, Grace does not accompany her husband to races and chooses carefully the events to attend with him. Most of the time, she stays at home and watches on TV like any other fan.

One major event that Grace could not miss was the INEOS 1:59 Challenge when Kipchoge became the first man to run a marathon under two hours.

The marathon GOAT clocked 1:59:40 in Vienna, Austria in October 2019 and as the world celebrated the historic achievement, Grace was at the finish line to give her husband an embrace.

Since then, it became apparent just how crucial she has been in Kipchoge’s life and career and she later admitted to doing more.

Grace is also the marathoner’s prayer warrior. She explained how she had fasted for seven days as her husband prepared to lower his own world record in 2022 and saw her prayers answered when he clocked 2:01:09 in Berlin.

“I congratulate my husband again for making history by lowering his world record time. I was in prayer mood for the last one week and I fasted for a miracle to happen. I am happy that victory has come,” she told Nation after watching her husband break the world record.

As Kipchoge prepares to make further history in Paris, he can do it without distractions knowing that his key support system is taking care of things back home and is also on her knees praying for another miracle.

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