ATHLETICS Why Eliud Kipchoge has nothing to prove despite Boston setback

The long-distance great may not have won in his second race on American soil but what he has achieved over the years leaves him standing alone at the top

Eliud Kipchoge failed in his attempt to add the Boston title to his stellar list of major marathon wins following a sixth-place finish on Monday.

The Kenyan was seen as the favourite, despite the fact that he was running in Boston for the first time, but bad weather and a tough course conspired to hinder his ambitions, consigning him to just his third major marathon loss.

Kipchoge fought a trace of headwind and rain that dampened the roads to join the leading pack from the start in Hopkinton until the series of climbs, collectively known as Heartbreak Hill, saw him fall off and he did not recover to finish in 2:09:23, the slowest marathon time of his career, with compatriot Evans Chebet (2:05:54) retaining his title.

The 38-year-old’s loss elicited mixed reactions on social media and while some encouraged him, a section of supporters went as far as claiming that he is ‘finished.’

Remains the GOAT

However, thoughts of Kipchoge being finished look a tad too premature or better yet an overstretch.

For starters, Kipchoge has nothing else to prove. This is a guy who has won 12 of the 15 major marathons he has featured in and has back-to-back Olympic gold medals to boot. Simply put, Kipchoge remains the greatest marathon runner of all time.

He is the only man to do the unthinkable by running a marathon under two hours after his incredible 1:59:40 mark in Vienna, Austria three years ago, and has set two world marathon records in a space of four years, running 2:02:39 in Berlin in 2018, before lowering his own mark to 2:02:09 last year.

These are not achievements and levels of a ‘finished’ man but rather someone who is somewhat ‘not human.’

Did not pull out

To show just how resilient he is and has been, Kipchoge did not take the easy route of pulling out of the race on Monday even when it was clear that the conditions did not favour him.

He soldiered on and waved to the thousands of fans who had turned out on the streets of Boston to cheer him. He was even gracious in defeat, accepting he is human after all, and not guaranteed to win every race.

“I live for the moments where I get to challenge the limits. It’s never guaranteed, it’s never easy,” Kipchoge said via a social media post. “Today (Monday) was a tough day for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could but sometimes, we must accept that today wasn’t the day to push the barrier to a greater height.”

First time in Boston

Many perhaps forget just how tough Boston is for its participants and for those running it for the first time, it can be daunting. That coupled with the unpredictable weather makes for a grueling race and Kipchoge faced the music on Monday.

Most of his wins have come in relatively warmer temperatures and the showers in Boston, plus the hilly course, which makes it difficult for world records to be recognised, did not help. 

There is always a second time and Kipchoge, who was only running in the US for the second time since winning in Chicago in 2014, can still come back to Boston and conquer.

Still going strong at 38

Perhaps another thing that fans need to appreciate is that Kipchoge is still breaking world records in his late 30s. At 38, most athletes are already retired yet the runner does not look like slowing down and was still considered the favourite for Monday’s race.

He still has the desire, drive and energy to take on and defeat younger runners and it will not be a surprise if he makes it a hat-trick of Olympics golds in Paris, France next year.