- Kipchoge will be making his debut in Boston
- This will be his fourth fifth race in the World Marathon Majors
- He will attempt to run all six of the majors
Two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has been confirmed for next year’s Boston Marathon, organizers announced on Thursday evening.
Kipchoge will be competing for the first time since he broke his own World Record at the Berlin Marathon. He will be competing in the fifth of all six World Major Marathons, having said he wished to complete a sweep of all six.
He has won in London, Berlin, Chicago and this year chalked off Tokyo from his bucketlist. Once he clears Boston, he will only have New York left on his Majors list.
“I am happy to announce in April I will compete in the Boston Marathon, a new chapter in my Abbott World Marathon Majors journey. Good luck to all the runners running Boston in 2023,” Kipchoge said in a video message, shortly after the announcement was made.
Might also think of New York Marathon
Eliud Kipchoge wins the Berlin Marathon. PHOTO/World Athletics
With the New York Marathon traditionally scheduled for November, Kipchoge might consider it next, before switching all his energies towards the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where he aims to be the first man to win three titles in a row.
In Boston, Kipchoge will have a tough, competitive field to contend with, as he eyes another piece of history.
Defending champion Evans Chebet, 2021 winner Benson Kipruto, and two-time victor Lelisa Desisa will be part of a historically deep men’s elite race.
Chebet stormed to a 2:06:51 win at the Boston Marathon earlier this year then ran to victory at the New York City Marathon in November. In 2022, Chebet became just the sixth man in history to win the Boston and New York City Marathons in the same year.
“To be a champion in Boston is something very special and for me it has even more meaning because it took me quite some time during my career to be competitive enough to finally win the oldest marathon in the world,” said Chebet. “I can’t wait to be back and to enjoy the great atmosphere of such a unique and historical race!”
Past winners return
Evans Chebet wins the Boston Marathon
Kipruto, a training partner of Chebet, also returns. Almost exactly one year after winning the 2021 Boston Marathon, he won the Chicago Marathon in a PB of 2:04:24.
Meanwhile, the women’s field will have veterans Edna Kiplagat, Atsede Baysa and Desiree Linden.
Kiplagat, a two-time world champion, is still highly competitive at the age of 43. She finished fourth at this year’s Boston Marathon in 2:21:40 – 12 seconds faster than her winning time in Boston in 2017.
Baysa, the 2016 Boston Marathon winner, also returns. Also a past winner in Chicago and Paris, Baysa finished eighth at the 2021 Boston Marathon. Linden, the winner in 2018, will be racing in her 10th Boston Marathon.
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