Eliud Kipchoge, the “philosopher” who took athletics to another dimension and learned to manage the pressure to be the best marathoner in history

Born November 5, 1984, Eliud Kipchoge It comes from the Rift Valley, that inexhaustible pool of runners in the heart of Kenya. Her village of origin is Kapsiswa and it is there that – like so many peasant children – she felt the Olympic runners as her true idols. Since the late 1960s, athletes from Kenya (and also from neighboring Ethiopia) have dominated long-distance events in world and Olympic competitions at will. In the case of Kipchoge, his reference man was Patrick Sang, the Olympic runner-up in the 3000m steeplechase at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. And he didn’t stop looking for him until he became … his coach. . Today they form one of the strongest teams in athletics. Kipchoge points out that Sang gave him “mental strength” and psychological work. Sang, in turn, argues that “Kipchoge always surprises with her sacrifice and dedication to him. He has put one hundred percent of his abilities and his commitment to him at the service of what he does “.

Reaching an athletics team in Kenya is like appearing in an NBA All Star Game, but Kipchoge did it as a young man. His international debut was in another of that country’s classic races, cross country, taking 5th place in the 2002 Junior World Championship and winning that same competition the following year. And it is precisely in 2003, still very young, that he achieves his first major success on the track, when he triumphs on the 5,000 meters at the World Championships in Paris, where his losers are the most famous track racers of the decade: the Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj and the Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele.

From that moment Kipchoge was the animator of the great competitions of that distance with Olympic bronze in Athens 2004, silver medalist in Beijing 2008, finalist in all the World Championships from 2005 to 2011. But shortly after, the decisive turning point for your campaign. He could not get on the track and during the very tough Kenyan Trials for the London 2012 Olympics he was unable to qualify (in that race he finished 7th).

It was at that moment that Sang convinced him to become a “long distance” runner. Maybe they figured it out, or maybe they didn’t … But Kipchoge would become the best marathon runner in history.

He debuted with a score of 59m25 in the Lille half marathon in September of the same year and was called to the World Championship of that distance in Kavarna, Bulgaria, where he finished 6th. Weeks later, in April 2013, he made his appearance as a marathon runner, triumphing in Hamburg with 2h05m30s.

Six months later he had a great duel with his compatriot Wilson Kipsang, who set the world record in Berlin with 2h03m.23 and Kipchoge was second with 2h04m.05.

If we do not include the two special record attempts (Monza 2017, Vienna 2019) in the list, Kipchoge’s “marathon” campaign has so far boasted these jewels: 17 official races, of which 15 won and only two suffered. And among them, his Olympic gold medals. And the world records, 2h.01m.39s in September 2018, and half a minute less this Sunday, September 25, 2022.

Already in 2015 he was arriving at a record pace in the same city, when the sole of one of his shoes came off and ran stuck throughout the final stretch. Two years later, in London, rain and wind thwarted another of his searches. Until he finished it all in September 2018, demolishing the goal that his compatriot Denis Kimetto had scored in 2014 with 2h02m57s. And he did so despite his main rivals leaving early, and he also had no free time from kilometer 26 to the end, walking through the Brandenburg Gate alone.

He has the ideal biotype of a marathon runner, measures 1 meter and 67 and weighs 52 kg. He trains at the Kaptagat “campus” alongside a team of 30 athletes led by Sang. He is very rigorous in his preparations and competes a few times a year, he makes the most of it. His motto is “the spirit carries the body, mental strength is the key. And I run disconnected from my thoughts. And he also considers himself “very lucky” with his “physical care”, as he hasn’t had “many injuries”.

Very early every day, Kipchoge and that team hold their first training session. Nicknamed “Philosopher” for his love of reading, Kipchoge shares the same routine and discipline as his peers, without privileges. He dedicates the weekend to his family in Eldorte. “I’m a simple person. I try to stay calm and focused on what I’m doing. There are no distractions,” he points out. His coach Sang says: “He continues to surprise me with his sense of sacrifice and dedication to him. He has put 100% of his skills and commitment at the service of what he does.”

His feat in Vienna – when he became the first man to run a marathon in less than 2 hours, despite being a special and unofficial attempt in the so-called “Ineos Project” – caused the euphoria of his countrymen, there was a crowd. in the capital, Nairobi, and in Eldoret, the “capital” of Kenyan athletics. President Umuru Kenyatta sent him a warm congratulatory message, proclaiming “the pride of the country in your success”.

Kipchoge recalled the time that the previous attempt at Monza “served him well and has shown he can do it”. “In my athletic life, the biggest challenge I faced was learning how to manage pressure. When I was young, it was hard for me, I couldn’t sleep the night before auditions. I learned to master it, Patrick taught me. how to do it in the euphoria of his feat in Vienna, remembered in particular Roger Bannister, the British athlete who became the first man to lose 4 minutes of the mile in 1954. “Like Bannister, I also hope that, in many years, people talk about what I’ve accomplished. So, I feel like I’ll have made history, “he said. He concluded that day: “I am the happiest man in the world for wasting 2 hours in a marathon. Today he can tell me that there are no limits to being human. And more people will be encouraged to do so. We can create a more world. beautiful and peaceful “.

Interviewed on the eve of the Sapporo Olympic marathon and always referring to his feat at the Praer, he commented: “Of course life changes. Life changes because sometimes I feel happy and sometimes I feel sad, like everyone else. But mentally I have never changed. Or rather, I’ve changed. Because now I believe that any human being can run 42 kilometers in less than two hours. This changed my life because it changed the way we thought about this event. I trust that any athlete can finish less than two hours in an official race, as long as he is ready. What is needed? Record a YES in your heart and mind. It is the only essential value, to be convinced that you will succeed, putting your mind on the road ”.

During the pandemic and in the periods of imprisonment, with its resentful preparation, it sent messages of solidarity to the world and with particular attention to ecological issues. He raced in London in the fall of 2020 – a limited test and where he was not in the best condition he finished eighth – but he encouraged the return of the Games for 2021. “Our participation in the Games is a sign of hope for the world. . The message is: “We are preparing to live the best of our lives when we get back to normal.” There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We are in transition. That’s why we’ll be racing in Sapporo (…) I feel fresh every day I get out of bed and prepare to win Olympic gold. I love sport, I love running. What encourages me most is the feeling of inspiring so many people, “he said.

Adapted to both fast and ideal weather events such as London, Tokyo or Berlin, but also marathons that require tactical skills and withstand high heat and humidity such as the Olympics, he kept his gold in Sapporo, after getting rid of his compatriot Lawrence Cherono (the only one who resisted his step up to kilometer 35). He thus became the third athlete in history to hold that marathon crown, after the legendary Ethiopian Abebe Bikila did in the 1960s (Rome / Tokyo) and East German Waldemar Cierpinski in the next (Montreal 1976). 1980).

Although marathon specialists can run at a high level after the age of 30 or 35, it is surprising that Eliud Kipchoge reaches his record of nearly 38 years and has ambitions for a new Olympic title when he approaches 40. But his fantastic demonstration of this Sunday in Berlin he confirms that he is at the peak of his technical skills. It is already, certainly, a colossus for the history of the discipline. The man who took long distance athletics to another dimension, in the midst of the great transformation that has been taking place in recent times, especially in footwear technology and training systems. But, basically, he is gifted in terms of natural conditions.