Kipchoge: Paris Olympics was good despite pain

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge and other athletes compete in the men's marathon of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on August 10, 2024.[AFP]

Despite running the worst marathon in his largely successful athletics career, Eliud Kipchoge maintains that the Paris Olympics ‘was good.’

The two-time Olympic champion and the first man to race under two hours in 42km flew the Kenyan flag at the recently concluded Paris Olympics with an eye on a historic third marathon title.

But his attempt wasn’t successful after it became difficult to finish the men’s Olympic Marathon.

As he jetted back to the country on Monday night, the marathon legend was quick to wittily state that he was back to the drawing for another comeback.

“Paris was good. I want to say thank you to my fans and to all the 50 million Kenyans who’ve been praying for team Kenya and myself,” the multiple World Marathon Majors winner said at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Using the analogy of not chasing two rabbits at the same time, Kenya’s most decorated marathoner said he was back home to reflect about opportunities that were available for him.

He had attributed the difficulty in finishing the 2024 Paris Olympics marathon to pain in his waist.

“You can’t chase two rabbits at the same time. Paris was another rabbit. I need to go back and check out for another rabbit, which means going back to the drawing board to see what opportunities are there for me,” Kipchoge, who finished tenth at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon in March, said.

The Kenyan star, who ran 1:59:40 in the marathon at the 1:59 Ineos Challenge in Vienna in 2019 is yet to reveal whether he is retiring from active racing or not, following the disappointment in Paris.

The 39-year-old athlete said Kenya had the most disciplined and energetic athletes and the country’s future in the marathon was bright.

According to the running legend, the Olympic Games was not all about winning a medal, but representing a country.

“The Olympics is not all about gold medals, it is about participation; I did participate. You participate to represent your country and your continent and then you compete to win medals, that is why it is called the Olympics,” the father of two, said.

He went on to say: “There are people from different races but they participate (at the Olympics) as one.”

Kipchoge saluted Kenyans for championing his call to make Kenya a running nation.

Further, on the Olympic Marathon contest, Kipchoge said: “Failure must come in so that you realise success and success must come so that we realise that failure is in. It is the chemistry of the law of nature.”

Kipchoge was participating at the Olympics for the fifth time having debuted in 2004 Athens showpiece where he brought home a bronze in 5,000m. He upgraded it to a silver in Beijing in 2008 before shining in the marathon, bagging gold in 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo.

Team Kenya coach at the Paris Olympics, Julius Kirwa said competition at the global show was tough this year but the country’s squad was well trained.

According to Kirwa, the Kenyan athletes did their best in Paris.

“Athletes ran their Personal Bests during the Olympics and that tells you that they did well in their events. It means they were trained well. They were prepared to represent us,” the tactician, who also jetted back on Monday, said.