This afternoon, Kenyans were highly anticipating a third 2024 Olympic gold medal from Kenya’s marathon legend and Olympian, Eliud Kipchoge. The race started well, the weather looked great and the spirits were high. But things didn’t go as expected.
For the first time in his entire running career, Kipchoge failed to finish a marathon. The two-time Olympic gold champion has left fans and sports enthusiasts around the world in a state of sadness. His heroic finish at the end-tape is what his every fan was awaiting for.
Things started going aloof when Kipchoge fell off the leading group of athletes after 19 km. He was showing visible signs of discomfort around his waist region. He was seen clutching the left side of his stomach and upper hip.
The other Kenyan athletes maintained their pace with the chasing group behind Faniel. The group consisted of Tamirat Tola, Faniel, and Kipruto (the fastest man in the world this year) as they crossed the halfway mark at 1:04:51.
The painful exit
The pain intensified forcing him to exit the race about 12 km away from the finish point at Les Invalides. This is the first time, he will not cross a finish line. This is rather a bitter end to his illustrious Olympic career after successive triumphs in Rio and Tokyo.
“This is my worst marathon. I have never done a DNF (did not finish). That’s life. Like a boxer, I have been knocked down, I have won, I have come second, eighth, 10th, fifth – now I did not finish. That’s life.”
Tola held on for the win with a new Olympic record time of 2:06:26, as Belgium’s Bashir Abdi and Kipruto completed the podium. Other runners urged him on, but he kept on a brave face as he walked part of the race. He was cheered on by the huge crowds lining the beautiful streets.
“You’ll See Me In a Different Way”
His quest to become the first man to win 3 successive Olympic marathons suffered a disappointment. In an unlikely event, he also announced his retirement from the world of marathons.
Asked whether he would attempt another Olympic at Los Angeles 2028, without mincing his words, he said “You will see me in a different way, maybe giving people motivation, but I will not run.”
“I don’t know what next. I need to go back [home], sit down, try to figure my 21 years of running at a high level. I need to evolve and feature in other things,” he added.
Kipchoge walked for 2km and had more than 300 people on either side walking with him. He did not have a shirt, socks shoes, and the race number. He only had his shorts.
Future Endeavours
Despite the unexpected turn, the two-time world record holder has no intentions to call time on his career, not just yet.
“I will continue, absolutely, why not?” on whether he plans to end his running career.
“I will not go into coaching. I have many other things to do than being a coach. I have to travel around the world, around the countries to motivate people.”
