Eliud Kipchoge says that one day his marathon records will be broken and he will be very happy

Marathon superstar Eliud Kipchoge has predicted that a "great runner" will one day shatter all of his records and he will be happy if they do.

The legendary Kenyan athlete retained his Olympic gold medal in Tokyo this month and is now recovering at his home close to the running centre of Eldoret in Kenya.

"I will be a happy man to see one of the great runners going below the two-hour mark in the marathon," he told Sky News.

"This is sport. It will show us that sport is to be enjoyed and it's you today and somebody else tomorrow. Breaking two hours in a normal marathon is a possibility."

Kipchoge holds the official world record with his time of 2:01:39 in the Berlin marathon of 2018, but he made history in Vienna the following year by becoming the first person to ever complete 26.2 miles in under two hours.

"I told all 40 of the other runners (his pacemaker team) 'let us go up to the moon and land together and make history'. It was like going to the moon and seeing what it's like there.

"There was no doubt. I didn't have any doubt. When I crossed the line my mind was blown. I was really happy to be the first human under two hours.

"That was the greatest day of my life. I had to share the happiness with my wife Grace, she has been such a good support, always supporting me. She takes care of the whole family and the children so she deserved a huge, huge hug."

His achievements have now been turned into a film, 'Kipchoge: The Last Milestone', by award-winning director Ridley Scott and can be watched on Sky Documentaries.

Kipchoge won't be in London for the marathon on October 3, but has a simple message for everyone taking part.

"Please enjoy running in London, let us make London great again. Let us bring hope again to the people in the UK, let us bring hope again to people around the world. This has been a tough time with COVID-19, but this thing will go away. Let us run as one!"

Kipchoge remained tight lipped about his future plans, saying that his focus right now is on recovering from his Olympic exploits.

"In a month or so I will sit down with my coach Patrick Sang and we will see what the future holds, what opportunities there are."

Kipchoge has won London four times and has only ever been beaten twice in his entire marathon career.

posted Tuesday August 17th
by Enda Brady