by Vincent Daheron and Helen Reid
PARIS (Reuters) – Double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge hopes to make history at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a third consecutive gold medal, he said in an interview with Reuters.
“My biggest goal is to be Olympic champion for the third time,” said the Kenyan.
Eliud Kipchoge is not yet talking about retirement as he will celebrate his 40th birthday next November.
“If you can convince me that by the time I cross the finish line the whole world is running, then I will retire.”
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“You know, in Kenya, they say that you don’t hunt two rabbits at the same time otherwise you’ll miss both. So the rabbit I’m hunting right now is the Olympic Games,” he added at the time. discuss possible participation in the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Eliud Kipchoge had a poor performance during his last marathon with an unusual 10th place in Tokyo on March 3 (2h06’50”).
“I think I was just tired… I don’t know what happened but that’s life, that’s sport, the beauty of sport,” he explained before to assure that he was “not at all” worried less than four months before the deadline.
In May 2019, Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to break the legendary two-hour mark in the marathon, but the time achieved in Vienna was not approved because it was achieved during a specifically organized event.
“We have a lot of talented athletes. First, you have to dare to think about breaking the two-hour barrier. Second, you have to dare to do it,” he said.
“I showed them the way.”
His compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, who died at the age of 24 in a car accident in Kenya on February 11, came close when he took the world record from him on October 8, 2023 (2h00’35” versus 2h01′ 09”).
The Kenyan welcomed World Athletics’ decision to reward the Paris 2024 Olympic champions with a bonus of $50,000 and the silver and bronze medalists from 2028.
“I don’t run for money, I run to perform and the rest will follow. But it’s a good idea from Sebastian Coe (president of the International Association of Athletics Federations – Editor’s note). For the younger generations, it allows you to develop gradually and make this sport more interesting.”
(Reporting by Helen Reid and Vincent Daheron, editing by Sophie Louet)
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