Two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya says “It's not Christmas every day'' after his preparations for the Paris Games stalled and he finished 10th behind champion Benson Kipruto in Sunday's Tokyo Marathon. Told.
Kipchoge, 39, faltered severely around the 20km mark and finished in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 50 seconds.
Kenyan Kipluto won in a course record time of 2:02:16, ahead of compatriots Timothy Kiplagat (2:02:55) and Vincent Getich (2:04:18).
The race was held less than a month after world record holder Kelvin Kiptum died when his car crashed into a tree in Kenya.
Kipchoge will try to win his third consecutive Olympic marathon gold medal later this year, but said it was “too early to say” how he would fare at the Paris Games.
“That's the thing – not every day is Christmas Day,” he told Japan's Nippon Television.
“Something happened in the middle of the race,” Kipchoge said, without elaborating.
He fell back dramatically and Kiplagat, Kipruto and Ngetich continued to fight in the lead group.
Kipchoge continued to struggle as the race progressed, dropping out of the top 10 by the 35km mark.
“I'm going to go back, relax and start training,” he said.
In the women's race, Sutume Assefa Kebede of Ethiopia won in 2 hours 15 minutes 55 seconds, which was also a course record.
Kenya's defending champion Rosemary Wanjiru (2:16:14) took second place ahead of Ethiopia's world title holder Amane Beriso Shankuru (2:16:58).
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands took fourth place with a time of 2:18:05.
～Record of Kipruto’s eyes～
Kiptum died on February 11 at the age of 24, just months after breaking Kipchoge's world record in Chicago and setting a new record of 2:00:35.
Kiptum and Kipchoge were expected to meet for the first time at the Paris Olympics.
The Tokyo Marathon was Kipchoge's first race since Kiptum's death, and he was on track to regain the world record until his loss.
Kipurto took over the lead from Kiplagat around 30km, set a new personal best, and powered his way to the finish with the eighth-fastest time in history.
Kipruto said he did not know what had happened to Kipchoge, but declared that he was “ready” to play in the Paris Games if selected to represent Kenya.
“I didn't know we were running world record pace. Nothing was wrong. We were ready,” said the 32-year-old Chicago 2022 champion.
When asked if he could become the first runner to run under two hours, Kipruto said: “Nothing is impossible. I will strive for it.”
Kebede beat her personal best by more than two minutes, earning her the 10th fastest time in women's history.
“I was able to set a course record, which I didn't expect to do,” she said.
Hassan, an Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion, won both the previous races in London and Chicago, and this was his third marathon.
Although he has not yet decided which event he will participate in at the Paris Olympics, he said he was satisfied with his performance.
“My Olympics will not change,” she said.
“I know my body type and it doesn't really matter. I learned a lot.”
Kiptum was driving in Rift Valley, Kenya's long-distance running capital, when his car went off the road.
Police said Kiptum and his Rwandan coach, Gervais Hakizimana, were killed at the scene and a female passenger was injured.
amk/dh
