Eliud Kipchoge has not only won the Berlin Marathon but has also broken the event’s world record. This win is Kipchoge’s 10th win in 11 marathons, earning him the title of the ‘greatest marathoner ever’.
Born in 1984 in Kapsisiywo in Nandi County, Kipchoge used to run to school and to the shops and would only take part in professional running after graduating high school. He was inspired by one of Kenyan silver-medalist winners Paul Sang (who is now his coach) and started training seriously.
His first win was in 2003 during the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He would continue training and winning medals and eventually, in 2012 he moved to road races, including cross countries and marathons.
Kipchoge has now won the London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, and in 2016 he won the Rio Olympics Marathon. In 2017, he took part in the Breaking2 project by Nike, where he ran the fastest marathon ever, however, the time is not an official record due to the circumstances it occurred.
Many people have followed the life and rise to prominence of the 33-year-old athlete and all eyes were on him as he took part in the Berlin Marathon today. While he was out to run his personal best race, he was able to break the record with a time of 2.01.39 beating the former record 2.02.57 set by his Kenyan counterpart Dennis Kimetto in 2014.
He could be seen smiling as he raced to the finish line to claim his victory. This makes Kipchoge one of the most illustrious athletes in the world alongside Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie and Kenya’s Paul Tergat.
Kenya was well represented in the marathon with a complete podium sweep, with Amos Kipruto and Wilson Kipsang crossing the finish line in second and third position. In the women’s marathon, Glady’s Cheruiyot emerged the winner, setting a new course record and personal best.
