The marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge says 5,000m has been crucial for his career

Marathon world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge has a fairly quiet social media presence, rarely expressimg personal views and using it primarily as a tool to promote events he will be participating in or to thank fans and sponsors. 

But on Wednesday evening, Kipchoge tweeted about the IAAF’s recent decision to remove the 5,000m from the Diamond League.

The 5,000m has been crucial for my career and has helped me to become the athlete I am today. I believe in long term careers where track and field can result into a great marathon career.

“I hope future athletes will have the possibility to follow this exact same path in their careers.”

Many athletes, fans and coaches have expressed their concerns around removing the event from the Diamond League, which is the most competitive circuit in track and field.

Many are worried that the removal of the 5,000m from the Diamond League will take an event that has helped shaped some of the greatest runners of all time, and make it irrelevant. 

posted Thursday March 21st