Mission accomplished says Kenyan Kipchoge after marathon victory
Mission accomplished says Kenyan Kipchoge
JOHANNESBURG, April 19 (ANA) – Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge proved he was still the best men’s marathoner in the world with his victory in 2:04:30 in the NN Mission Marathon at Twente Airport, in Enschede, The Netherlands, on Sunday.
His winning time in the 42.2km event was the fastest in the world this year.
“Mission accomplished,” said Kipchoge. “The conditions were really good, a bit windy, but I had no complaints. The race was perfect. This was the real test towards Tokyo. It’s good to have a marathon a few months before the Olympics to test my fitness.”
The Olympic champion’s place on Kenya’s team for Tokyo had already been confirmed, as has his status as one of the all-time greats. But following a rare defeat at the London Marathon last year, the world record-holder was keen to produce a confidence-boosting performance ahead of the Olympic Games.
He did exactly that in the race, despite having to contend with some late changes to the race plans as the event had originally been set for April 11 in Hamburg.
Unlike many of Kipchoge’s previous marathon races, the event was never intended as an opportunity to chase record times. Nevertheless, the pace was swift as a lead group of four reached 15km in 43:46, just outside 2:03 pace.
After going through half way in 1:01:43, with Kipchoge running alongside Kenyan pacemakers Philemon Kacheran and Jonathan Korir, the pace settled in the second half with each five-kilometre segment being covered in just outside 14:50.
By the time Kipchoge and the pacing duo reached 30km in 1:28:10, the chase pack was more than two minutes adrift but still on course for Olympic qualifying times. Shortly after, with 1:35 on the clock, Kipchoge left his pacemakers behind.
His tempo didn’t actually increase in the closing stages, but he maintained his sub-three-minute kilometre pace, which brought him to the finish line in a world-leading 2:04:30.
Korir held on for second place in 2:06:40 with Eritrea’s Goitom Kifle coming through to take third in 2:08:07. A little further behind, Uganda’s 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich placed fifth in 2:09:04. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman
