Eliud Kipchoge speaks up after losing at the Boston Marathon
The World record holder Eliud Kipchoge has broken his silence after losing the Boston Marathon 2023.
This comes after he finished sixth in the race, having been dropped around 19 miles in his Boston Marathon debut in the middle of the race’s famed hills.
He finished 3 minutes, 29 seconds, and in a post on his social media pages, Kipchoge acknowledged that even though he lives for moments where he gets to challenge the limits, yesterday was a tough day.
He tweeted, “I live for the moments where I get to challenge the limits. It’s never guaranteed, and it’s never easy. Today was a tough day for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could but sometimes, we must accept that today wasn’t the day to push the barrier to a greater height.”
Further, he congratulated those that defeated him, saying, “I want to congratulate my competitors and thank everyone in Boston and from home for the incredible support I am so humbled to receive. In sports you win and you lose and there is always tomorrow to set a new challenge. Excited for what’s ahead.”
I live for the moments where I get to challenge the limits. It’s never guaranteed, it’s never easy. Today was a tough day for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could but sometimes, we must accept that today wasn’t the day to push the barrier to a greater height. pic.twitter.com/hYadxV5yLE
— Eliud Kipchoge – EGH🇰🇪 (@EliudKipchoge) April 17, 2023
Also read: Eliud Kipchoge: The man of the moment eyes Boston glory
Kipchoge was behind Evans Chebet who clocked 2:05:54 and became the first male runner to repeat as Boston champion since 2008. Hellen Obiri won the women’s race in 2:21:38 pulling away from Ethiopian Amane Beriso in the last mile.
It marked Kipchoge’s third defeat in 18 career marathons, a decade-long career at 26.2 miles that included two world record-breaking runs and two Olympic gold medals.
Kipchoge, 38, hopes to become the first person to win three Olympic marathons next year.
The Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T) has won four of the six, just missing Boston and New York City, a November marathon he has never raced.
He is expected to race two more marathons before the Paris Games. Kipchoge will be nearly 40 come Paris, more than one year older than the oldest Olympic champion in any running event, according to Olympedia.org. Kenya has yet to name its three-man Olympic marathon team.
Also read: Ex-herdsman turned marathon runner: Timothy Kiplangat’s rise to the top