Eliud Kipchoge to Defend His Berlin Marathon Title in September

Eliud Kipchoge to Defend His Berlin Marathon Title in September

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at July 13, 2023 at 12:06 PM
  • Eliud Kipchoge will run the 2023 Berlin Marathon
  • The Kenyan runner broke his own world record in last year's event, clocking 2:01:09
  • The 38-year-old finished 6th in the Boston Marathon in April

After a disappointing performance in the 2023 Boston Marathon, world record holder, Eliud Kipchoge will look to bounce back at the Berlin Marathon in September.

The Kenyan runner shaved 30 seconds off his own world record in last year's event; the double Olympic champion will return to the race looking to become the first person to win it five times.

Eliud Kipchoge, Boston Marathon, Olympics, London Marathon Berlin Marathon
Eliud Kipchoge celebrates winning the 2022 BMW Berlin Marathon. Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer - GES Sportfoto.
Source: Getty Images

The 38-year-old finished 6th in Boston, a result many did not expect from the marathon icon. He finished with a time of 2:09:23 - his slowest marathon time ever. That performance was frustrating for Kipchoge, especially since he has won an incredible 15 marathon races over the last decade.

In last year's Berlin marathon, he smashed the world record, clocking a spectacular 2:01:09, taking 30 seconds off the world record he set in the German capital in 2018, per World Athletics.

Can he take a few more seconds off in September?

Kipchoge returns to Berlin

The Kenyan icon made the announcement that he will run in the 49th edition of the Berlin Marathon through his NN Running team.

“On my road to the Paris Olympic Games, I like to go back to the BWM Berlin Marathon, since to me this is the perfect preparation. I have great memories there and I look forward to running the streets of Berlin again, together with the thousands of runners that will join.”

Kipchoge has only lost once at the event -- in 2013 when he finished second in his second career marathon. He is also eyeing a third Olympic marathon gold in Paris in 2024.

If he wins, he will surpass Ethiopian icon, Haile Gebrselassie, who not only won every year between 2006-2009, but also broke the world record twice.

List of Kenyan record-holders

Sports Brief earlier listed every Kenyan who currently holds a world record in athletics.

Eliud Kipchoge, Brigid Kosgei, and Beatrice Chepkoech are some Kenyan runners that currently hold world records in athletics.

Kipchoge is a global icon after he became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.
Tags
World