Eliud Kipchoge on his future after first career DNF
When Kipchoge returned for his second marathon this season at the square at Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, he exuded confidence and was relaxed fist bumping with other runners, including his long time rival Kenenisa Bekele.
He was a man on a mission-get back to winning ways- or at least reach the Olympic podium for a fourth time in his fifth Olympic Games.
His second last race was in Berlin last September, when he became the first man to under two hours and three minutes for the marathon with his 2:02.42.
Kipchoge’s new mark barely lasted a month as Kelvin Kiptum, now deceased, lowered that mark to 2 hours and 35 seconds.
At 19 degrees centigrade and average humidity, the conditions suited him and the other 80 starters perfectly. In Rio and at the Tokyo Olympic race in Sapporo, he had demonstrated his desire to win with grim determination in sweltering conditions.
This time he was well armed for the rising heat with his striking cooling headband, designed to enhance performance (and comfort) in the heat.
Kipchoge just shy of his 40th birthday was here for another highlight in his celebrated marathon career. The running guru, stayed at a touching distance of the leading pack up to the 15km mark. Then he began holding his waist, early worrying signs that all was not well for the defending Olympic champion.
Then it became clear that there would be no redemption on the Olympic marathon course, at least.
He began falling off the pace, as other runners eased past. Swiss runner Tadese Abraham slowed down to check on him and he confirmed the discomfort.
“My waist was a little bit painful. It was a sharp pain,” he explained to Olympics.com. “And it was not allowing me to continue with the race.”
“It’s difficult for you to train for more than four months and then get a pain where it can stop you,” he said.
The pain intensified forcing him to take a difficult decision, to end his race about 12 km away from the finish point at Les Invalides, the first time, he will not cross a finish line. Before his final Olympic showing, Kipchoge’s worst marathon result was the 10th place at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon.
