Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge showed he is the king of the marathon with a dominant run to retain his Olympic title on the streets of Sapporo on Sunday.
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Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge showed he is the king of the marathon with a dominant run to retain his Olympic title on the streets of Sapporo on Sunday.
The world record holder clocked 2hr 08min 38sec to win gold. Thus, he became only the third man to win consecutive marathon titles.
Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands claimed silver in 2:09.58, just ahead of Belgium’s Bashir Abdi in the final event of the athletics programme at the Tokyo Olympics.
Kipchoge’s victory margin of 1min 20sec was the biggest since Frank Shorter’s win in the 1972 Munich Games.
Two early casualties of note were Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich, who was gold medallist at the 2012 London Games, and Ethiopian Shura Kitata Tola, winner of last year’s London Marathon.
The Kenyan then kicked away on a solo breakaway as the pack split further, opening up a 27-second lead through 35 kilometres (1:46.59).
“I think I have fulfilled the legacy by winning the marathon for the second time, back-to-back. I hope now to help inspire the next generation,” Kipchoge said.
“It means a lot for me, especially at this time,” he added of winning his second gold medal.
“It was really hard last year, it (Olympic Games) was postponed. I am happy for the local organising committee who made this race happen. It is a sign that shows the world we are heading in the right direction – we are on the right transition to a normal life.”
He further added that he has lived his ‘Olympic dream’ now.
“The Olympic dream is a special dream,” said Kipchoge. “For every athlete here, it has taken a lifetime of preparation to get to this point.
“Today I lived my Olympic dream. I always say that sport is like life, whereby you can win and lose. But today was a day where I won and get to say I successfully defended my Olympic title.”
