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Marathon great Eliud Kipchoge has explained how he is still feeling hurt from the failure to finish his marathon race at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Eliud Kipchoge is still feeling dissapointed following his failure not to finish the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
In a surprising turn of events in the French capital, the two-time Olympic champion did not cross the finish line for the first in his illustrious career.
The 39-year-old, who was targeting an unprecedented third straight Olympic gold medal, was forced to drop out at the 31km mark with a back injury after he looked uncomfortable from the early stages.
The five-time Berlin Marathon champion described his failure to finish the marathon in Paris as a surprise but expects to bounce back strongly after resuming training in a bid to regain full fitness ahead of an action-packed schedule.
The four-time London marathon champion said: "It came as a surprise," referring to his failure.
Ethiopian Tamirat Tola won the race of his life at the Paris edition after he finished first in 2:06:26, having entered the marathon as a substitute for injured teammate Sisay Lemma.
Belgian, Bashir Abdi, upgraded his Tokyo 2020 bronze to Paris silver, finishing 21 seconds behind Tola with a time of 2:06:47 as Kenya's Benson Kipruto claimed bronze (2:07:00).
For Kipchoge, his Paris heartbreak is still a bitter pill swallow but he has already taken it on the chin.
"I will remember that Paris 2024 I participated, but I did not finish. Those are the memories which I will be remembered out of it," said Kipchoge, who has used the off-season to reflect and adjust as he looks to forge ahead with his usual bold determination.
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