Kipchoge has already written history even before the INEOS 1:59 Challenge
Eliud Kipchoge was born a winner. That’s why his compatriots and fans worldwide will be backing him to become the first man to run a marathon under 2 hours at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge on Saturday in Vienna, Austria.
The 34-year old’s major breakthrough came in 2003 when he won the junior race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championship in Ireland.
He followed that up with another significant win, this time in the 5000m race at the 2003 World Championships in Paris.
He was only 18 years old at the time.
Then a year later he won a bronze medal over the same distance at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
In 2007, Kipchoge won a silver medal in 5000m at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan before settling for another silver at the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing.
“It is the confidence (that makes me win races). I prepare for each race well and with a strict code. I do it for my family and for Kenyans,” Kipchoge once explained.
HISTORY BECKONS
The father of three switched to marathon in 2012 and went on to win the Hamburg marathon on his debut while posting the fastest time ever on that course.
His first major marathon victory came in Chicago in 2014 and he has since won the London marathon a record four times, including in 2015 while competing alongside First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and cheered on by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
He also has three Berlin Marathon titles under his belt, including last year when he timed 2:01:39 for a new world record.
“I have had to remain disciplined in my career and train to remain fit all the time. It is a challenge to run 42km but more challenging when you have to complete that over a period of time,” he said in an interview last year.
With all that success, now a place in history beckons Kipchoge.