Wise decision to postpone Olympics – Kenyan Kipchoge

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge praised the decision to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to the worldwide spread of Covid-19 on Tuesday.

World Athletics made the inevitable announcement, as pressure mounted from a number of countries as the coronavirus continues to spread.

The defending Olympic marathon champion and world record holder Kipchoge said: “All in all a very wise decision to postpone the Olympics until 2021,

“I look forward to coming back to Japan to defend my Olympic title next year and look forward to witnessing a wonderful event. I wish everybody good health in these challenging times.”

Before the world was struck by the rapid spread of coronavirus, Kipchoge was in the final stages of his preparation for the London Marathon. The 42.2km event was scheduled for April 26 but has since been moved to October 4.

Kipchoge would have been the favourite for the race, although he was set to face stiff competition from Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele. Kipchoge’s world record 2:01:39 was set at the Berlin Marathon in 2018, with Bekele coming agonisingly close to that mark in winning the same event in Germany in 2019 when he clocked 2:01:41.

It’s no secret that Kipchoge has a team of athletes he trains alongside, which has been vital in his record-breaking exploits – but now with Covid-19 safety precautions, it means Kipchoge will spend many hours in training on his own.

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo