- Kipchoge is looking to become the first man to win berlin five times
- He is also looking at the possibility of a new World Record
- He faces a stiff competitive field
Marathon world record holder and double Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge will look to make some more history when he lines up at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.
Kipchoge will look to become the first man to win the Berlin title five times, as he is currently tied on the record of four with Ethiopian great Haille Gebresellasie. The Kenyan marathon legend equaled Haille’s record of four last year when he clocked 2:01:09 to improve his own world record by half a minute.
“Berlin for me is like home. Looking at the Olympic Games in Paris next year, I considered which races would be the best preparation for me and Berlin was the best option,” said Kipchoge who has previously won in Berlin in 2015, 2017, 2018, and last year, the last two being World Record runs.
No pressure on world record
He does not want to put the pressure on himself to try and lower the world record further, for a third time in his career, despite the course and weather in Berlin providing perfect conditions. “But that was 2022, it’s a different year now and a different race. I’m nervous, but that shows I’m ready. I’ll try to run a good time,” Kipchoge said during the pre-race conference.
Kipchoge is looking to place himself in perfect mental shape ahead of next year’s Olympic Games, where he is also chasing history, looking to become the first man to win three titles in a row.
He also wants to wipe off the disappointment of the Boston Marathon earlier on this year, when his quest for a first title on debut ended up in defeat under cold and wet conditions.
Of the 18 competitive marathons he has raced, Kipchoge has only lost on three occasions – on his Berlin Marathon debut in 2013, in London in 2020, and in Boston in April. Completing the undulating Boston course in 2:09:23, Kipchoge finished his most recent race in sixth place, but the Kenyan remains the man to beat in Berlin.
In Berlin, he faces a tough field and will not be a walk in the park. Kipchoge’s compatriot Amos Kipruto has the second fastest PB among the entries and he hopes to go even faster on Sunday.
Kipruto looks to down Kipchoge
The 2019 world bronze medallist, who won last year’s London Marathon, clocked 2:03:13 when finishing second to Kipchoge in last year’s Tokyo Marathon.
The pair have clashed on two other occasions in the marathon: once in Berlin, where Kipruto finished second in 2:06:23 behind Kipchoge’s world record run in 2018, and once at the Olympic Games in Japan, where Kipchoge won and Kipruto did not finish.
This time they will face 10 other men with sub-2:06 PBs: Kenya’s Jonathan Maiyo, Eliud Kiptanui, Ronald Korir, Philemon Kiplimo, Enock Onchari and Mark Korir, and Ethiopia’s Tadu Abate, Andualem Shiferaw and Haftu Teklu, plus Eritrea’s Ghirmay Ghebreslassie.
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