Pablo Moraga |
Kaptagat (Kenya) (EFE).- Eliud Kipchoge -winner of the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports and, for many, the best marathon runner of all time- is a legend sitting on a plastic chair. Instead of leading a life of luxury, her home is a simple training center in western Kenya where she now talks to EFE.
Kipchoge shares this quiet corner – there was not even electricity in the area until the center’s sponsors recently installed some solar panels – with dozens of runners with whom he lives and trains every day.
The Kenyan has broken the marathon world record twice. He has won two consecutive Olympic marathons. And he is the only human being to have run that distance (42,195 kilometers) in less than two hours.
To achieve this last feat in 2019, Kipchoge used some conditions that World Athletics does not allow in official competitions. But the marathon runner assures that, even so, that is his feat of which he feels most proud.
“That is history. And it will remain forever, ”he tells EFE.
Kipchoge sees it possible to go below 2 hours in a marathon
Question: Do you think we are close to seeing someone drop below two hours in an official marathon?
Answer: I think it is possible. In the future some broker will get it.
Q.: Would you like to try it?
A.: I don’t know… I think I have already shown the rest of the runners what the way is. (…) The world is open now that we have shown people that there are no limits.
short term goals
Q.: And what other goals do you have? Only those of Boston and New York remain to win all the so-called Great Marathons. Would you like to participate in them before the 2024 Olympic Games?
A.: I have those races on my wish lists. (…) But the Olympic Games are important to me. I will try harder at the Olympics and maybe take a break from other things. (…) It will make me happy to win three Olympic marathons in a row. 2024 is an important year for me.
Q.: And the Valencia marathon?
A.: I think I have a long wish list… But I think Valencia is a very fast race. (…) It is the place where you really set foot.
He started running to go to school in Kenya
Q.: You have said that your first races were aimed at going to school.
A.: My school was not too far away, about four or five kilometres. But life in Kenya during those days was… You had to go to school in the morning, you came home to eat, and then you had more classes in the afternoon. Running was the only way not to be late.
Q.: Was it then that you discovered that you wanted to dedicate your life to athletics?
A.: It happened during school races. I usually won them. And after that I said to myself: ‘let’s try…’”.
simple life in kenya
Q.: Now, you could live in a mansion anywhere in the world. However, he has chosen to live a simple life in this training center. Because?
A.: I trust and believe that being grounded is the way to train well, make sure you don’t go off track, enjoy life, be with people, think and focus on the future.
Q.: How did you feel after receiving the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports?
A.: I was very happy. I never expected to receive an award from the princess of Spain. It really made me very happy. I reviewed the list of previous awardees and it is an honor to be among them.
Q.: When you received that award, you assured that “a world of runners is a more peaceful, happier and healthier world.” Can you explain this?
A.: Running makes us united, everyone doing it equally and making us enjoy life in this world… This recognition came from outside the world of sport. When those people can reward you, it means that you have inspired everyone. (…) I am satisfied and inspired to see that a world has been created that will be a world of runners, a united world, a peaceful world.
Kipchoge’s inspirations
Q.: What figures inspire you, inside and outside of sport?
A.: Nelson Mandela inspires me because he used to say that sport can unite young people and give hope to those who have lost hope, showing them a way. Mandela also said that sport is capable of speaking a language that young people, the new generations, are capable of understanding. (…) I am also inspired by the leadership of former US President Barack Obama.
Q.: What is the secret to achieving feats like yours?
A.: The secret is to stay with your feet on the ground. If I can give you any advice, it is simply to stay grounded. Because then your mind will hopefully wake up and you can see what’s next.”