Eliud Kipchoge: Marathon man
Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) has won more gold medals – and Guinness World Records titles - than any other marathon runner ever. 🥇
Eliud took his place as the greatest of all time when he broke the 2-hour barrier. People thought that wasn't physically possible!
On the right track
Eliud was born in 1984 on a farm in Kapsisiywa, Kenya, as the youngest of four siblings.
Young Eliud had to run 2 miles (3.2 km) every day to get to school. Whether he knew it or not, this was the beginning of his training.🏃🏾♂️🏠
When he was a teenager, the talented Eliud started running professionally.
However, his most impressive talent was his mindset: Eliud is a “true believer” - a warrior always ready to push his own limits. 👊
No human is limited.
- Eliud Kipchoge
Running through records
Humans have run marathons for thousands of years - since the times of the Ancient Greece.
Then along came Eliud Kipchoge to change the game forever. 😎
Nothing seems impossible for Eliud.
He holds many Olympic titles, World Championships and Guinness World Records titles, including the most wins of World Marathon Major races (male): 9
Here are just a few of the milestones in Eliud's amazing career:
- 2003: Eliud wins his very first senior gold medal at the French World Championship in Paris. 🥇
- 2016: Eliud beats 155 other pro runners at the Rio Olympics. This was the largest field for a marathon in Olympic history. 🏃🏃🏃
- 2018: Eliud conquers the Berlin Marathon in a record-breaking time of 2:01:39. ⏱
This was not just the fastest time to run the Berlin marathon in history, but also the fastest marathon ever run.
King Kipchoge 👑
Eliud also loves the London Marathon.
After winning the 2015, 2016 and 2018 events, in 2019 he yet again took home the gold medal. He dominated the race and set the fastest time to run the London Marathon (male) - 2 hr 2 min 37 sec.
With this legendary victory, he also broke the record for most London Marathon wins. 🏆
Achieving the impossible
In 2019, Eliud, with the help of his team, attempted something that had been considered physically impossible: running a marathon in under two hours.
The perfect conditions had to be created in order to have a chance:
- A flat, sea-level location: Vienna, Austria
- A day with ideal temperature and weather: 12 October 2019
- Eliud's team running alongside
- An electric car to set pace
- Special high-tech trainers! 👟⚡
For all those reasons, the run wasn’t recognized as an official marathon, but at a time of 1 hr 59 min 40 sec, it’s still the fastest marathon distance run in history. 🤯
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Eliud being able to pull that off!
Eliud's success backs up his philosophy: if you focus on your goals and challenge your limits, nothing is impossible.
100% of me is nothing compared to 1% of the whole team
- Eliud Kipchoge
Eliud Kipchoge's Records
| Record | Achievement | Date |
| Fastest road run 30 km (male) | 1 hr 27 min 13 sec | 24 Apr 2016 |
| Fastest marathon (male) | 2 hr 1 min 39 sec | 16 Sep 2018 |
| Fastest run Berlin Marathon (male) | 2 hr 1 min 39 sec | 16 Sep 2018 |
| Fastest run London Marathon (male) | 2 hr 2 min 37 sec | 28 Apr 2019 |
| Most World Marathon Major wins series (male) | Four total number (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19) | 1 Jan 2019 |
| Most wins of the London Marathon by an individual (male) | Four total number | 28 April 2019 |
| Fastest marathon distance (male) & first sub-2-hour marathon distance | 1 hr 59 min 40 sec | 12 Oct 2019 |
| Most World Marathon Major race wins (male)
| 9 total number | 12 Oct 2014 and 28 Apr 2019. |
More recently, on Aug 2021, at the Tokyo Olympics, Eliud dominated the track once more. 🐐
He defended his Olympic title by delivering an outstanding performance that won him yet another gold medal. 😉🥇
Eliud continues to be an inspiration for people around the world to pursue their dreams and never set themselves limits.
You can find Eliud Kipchoge on page 245 inside Guinness World Records 2022!
