athletics
Marathon star Kipchoge would like to run with Obama one day
Wants to attack his world record in Berlin: Eliud Kipchoge (2nd from left). photo
© Andreas Gora/dpa
Four years after his world record run, Eliud Kipchoge is the star of the Berlin Marathon again. The Kenyan would like to run with a former US President.
When asked by a Ukrainian journalist who he would like to run with, Eliud Kipchoge answered as quickly as he usually walks: Barack Obama.
“I invite him to Kenya for this,” said the two-time Olympic marathon champion before starting this Sunday (9.15 a.m. / ARD and RBB) in Berlin. Then the 37-year-old wants to attack his official world record of 2:01:39 hours, set in 2018.
In his always calm and reserved manner, Kipchoge explained why he would choose the former US President: “He is a character of hope, of inspiration, of unity.” For Obama it doesn’t matter whether someone is red, white or black. Known as a basketball fan, 61-year-old Obama is also the son of a Kenyan father.
Wrestler: Kipchoge has a ‘special aura’
It is also statements like this that lend Kipchoge charisma alongside his extraordinary achievements. “Due to his successes, he also has a special aura around him,” said German marathon European champion Richard Ringer to “Spiegel”. Ringer finished seven and a half minutes after Kipchoge at the Tokyo Olympics last year and finished 26th.
“I’m impressed by how well he manages to concentrate only on himself and his performance, even though he’s under a lot of media stress,” explained Ringer. “He just never disappoints.” In a race, Kipchoge always has enough space for himself: “Nobody would even think of standing in his way or harming him in any way. It’s more like a red carpet being rolled out. He’s the star.”
In 2019, Kipchoge had even beaten the two hours in a run under laboratory conditions in Vienna. Ringer explained that he was not a fan of such runs because they could not replace a real race. “But these experiments still mean that our sport receives enormous attention. Kipchoge has developed running even further.”