'I would love to finish the six'- Eliud Kipchoge sets ultimate career goal before retiring from competitive running

'I would love to finish the six'- Eliud Kipchoge sets ultimate career goal before retiring from competitive running

Abigael Wafula 08:09 - 18.10.2024

Eliud Kipchoge, two-time Olympic marathon champion, has stated he won't retire until he achieves one major gal despite his recent struggles, including a DNF at the Paris Olympics.

Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has given one major condition before hanging his spikes.

The marathon legend has quashed rumours about his retirement, noting that he has to compete in all of the six World Marathon Majors before thinking about the next step in his career.

In an interview with Runner’s World, Eliud Kipchoge explained that he has plans to compete next year and he has already started preparations towards the same.

The Kenyan athletics star has already raced in five marathon majors including the Berlin Marathon, London Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Boston Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon. In Berlin, he has won five titles and broken the world marathon record twice, in 2018 and 2022.

Eliud Kipchoge has four London Marathon titles to his name and he finished sixth at the 2023 Boston Marathon. He has raced in Tokyo twice, winning the title in 2022 and finishing 10th at the 2024 edition of the event.

Kipchoge also won the Chicago Marathon once, during the 2014 edition of the race. He has yet to race at the New York City Marathon and he might be lining up next season.

“Before I finish running competitively, I would love to finish the six. I believe that a lot of opportunities are still on the table for me to grab. I’m going for good things, which can inspire the world more,” he said.

He has struggled to make an impact this season but Eliud Kipchoge has already made a name for himself and he will be back better and stronger.

He started the season with a 10th-place finish at the Tokyo Marathon before failing to finish the race at the Paris Olympic Games where he intended to bag his third consecutive Olympic title. That was the first time that Kipchoge recorded a ‘Did not finish’ in a race and he termed the performance as the worst.

He will be turning 40 on November 5 and he will change status to a master’s athlete. Currently, Kenenisa Bekele holds the current master’s marathon world record of 2:04:19, a time he ran at the Valencia Marathon in 2023.