Look at Cristiano Ronaldo & Lewis Hamilton: Eliud Kipchoge explains why he is still the man to beat at 2024 Paris Olympics

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ATHLETICS Look at Cristiano Ronaldo & Lewis Hamilton: Eliud Kipchoge explains why he is still the man to beat at 2024 Paris Olympics

Joel Omotto 15:00 - 06.10.2023

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has dismissed those doubting whether he can claim a third straight Olympics gold as he aims to make history at the 2024 Paris Games

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge is still determined to make further history by becoming the first man to win three straight Olympic golds in marathon at the 2024 Paris Games.

Kipchoge, fresh from winning his fifth Berlin Marathon in Germany last month, feels his career has been shaped by pushing beyond the limits and that is why he feels he is still the right man to win the Olympics even though he will be 39 by then.

“Life is about pushing the limits and getting to know where the limits are,” Kipchoge told CNN, explaining why a marathon under two hours is also possible after he broke the barrier by running 1:59:40 in Vienna, Austria in 2019 although it was not ratified since it was an experimental and not an open race.

“It is really possible to run sub-2 in an open marathon. When I was training to break the two-hour barrier, most people and even the scientists were saying that the first human to run under two hours will be in the year 2075 but look what happened, I broke the two-hour barrier in 2019.

“It is possible provided we get the right people to run and to put in their minds and hearts and in practice.”

Reaching such super human levels have left Kipchoge feeling ‘invincible’ and he rates the race, dubbed the ‘INEOS 1:59 Challenge’ as his greatest achievement in sport to date, despite breaking two world records and winning as many Olympic gold medals.

“What gives me the greatest satisfaction in sports is breaking the two-hour barrier because it is history and inspiration. Everybody who was watching the race, we made history together. Three hours after crossing the finish line, I learned that 500 million people were watching the race,” he added.

“Just imagine, and at the end of the day, one billion people got interested and watched the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.”

Kipchoge bounced back from his disappointing sixth place finish at this year’s Boston Marathon to claim victory in Berlin and feels he still has enough to add onto his medal collection.

The 2024 Paris Olympics presents him with another chance to make further history as no man has ever won three marathon gold at the Games. What’s more, he would be the first to win it three times straight after his wins in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021.

Kipchoge has shrugged off those who feel he will be too old to contest for gold in the French capital, drawing comparisons with five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton who are still going strong at 38 years of age.

“I always say, when you feel real pain, that is where success is so the only way to be successful is to press on and you will be there. You cannot crack, so pain is a positive thing,” said Kipchoge.

“What is in my mind is to make history by being the first human being to win gold medals at the Olympics three times back-to-back.”