2007 Ballon d'Or Winner Kaka Sends Brilliant Message to Eliud Kipchoge After Marathon Heroics

• Eliud Kipchoge smashed his own record in Berlin recently
• The Kenyan completed the Berlin Marathon in two hours, one minute and nine seconds
• One of the people to hail Kipchoge as a great was Ricardo Kaka, who also took part in the marathon

Former AC Milan and Real Madrid forward Kaka could not help but gush at marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge as the two linked up over the weekend.

Kaka witnessed Kipchoge making history first-hand as he was also among the participants in the Berlin marathon, although he finished a massive 90 minutes behind the Kenyan.

The 2007 Ballon d’Or winner will surely have noted Kipchoge’s brilliance on the tracks, as he took to his Instagram with a special message to the ‘GOAT’.

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He shared a photo alongside Kipchoge with the caption:

“Running a Marathon is one of a few sports where an amateur athlete has the privilege to be on the same “field” with elite pro athletes.

“I was honored to run my first marathon where @kipchogeeliud broke his world record, completing a full marathon in 2:01:09h.

“Congratulations, Legend, for everything you have done for the sport! I wish you great success in your following challenges!”

Kipchoge also exhibited his class by actually responding to Kaka, saying: “It was an honour to meet you, I have always admired your incredible talent. It's great to see you in the marathon and achieve your goal. Hope to share the roads with you again soon!”

How it happened

As far as the Sunday race was concerned, 37-year old Kipchoge produced another class display over the grueling 26.2 miles.

He started the race with speed and at 59.51 minutes, he was already at the halfway mark.

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Mark Korir, another Kenyan, was his closest challenger but Kipchoge managed to pull away in the closing stages to sprint first to the tape.

How Kipchoge’s water handler helped him break the record

Sports Brief earlier reported of how Kipchoge’s bottle handler greatly helped him overcome the odds to break his own record.

Like any other sport, it was a team effort, from his sponsors INEOS to his trainer Patrick Sang. The long weeks of hard work in Kaptagat, Uasin Gishu finally paid off.

German, Claus-Henning Schulke has now become synonymous with Kipchoge's success. Schulke is responsible for giving Kipchoge his hydration drinks at specific points across the 42-kilometre race.