Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge to give pep talk to faltering Manchester United players
Legendary Kenyan marathoner, Olympic champion and World Marathon record breaker Eliud Kipchoge is likely to give a pep talk to Manchester United players.
According to the Daily Mail, this move is part of Sir Jim Ratclife’s plan to bring back glory days to Old Trafford- the home stadium of Manchester United.
Sir Ratcliffe is the owner of INEOS, one of Eliud Kipchoge’s biggest sponsors as seen when he ran the 42 km marathon under two hours in the INEOS 1:59 challenge in October 2019. Eliud clocked 1:59:40 in the marathon and unofficially broke a world record. Eliud is the star marathoner at INEOS’ NN running team.
In a special report seen by Daily Mail, NN running team Kenyan marathoners and New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby stars may be drafted to speak to the Manchester United players.
Previously, INEOS organised for its sponsored athletes to speak to All Blacks on mentality and endurance, and the same will be applied to Manchester United.
Sir Ratcliffe and his INEOS bought a 25% stake in Manchester United at $1.3 billion and intends on spending a further $300 million for future investments at the English Premier League side team.
His purchase is being touted as the heralding of the return of Manchester’s glory days when they won trophies back to back.
Despite acquiring star players such as Cameroonian keeper Andre Onana at the start of the season, Manchester United continues to struggle to impress and are unlikely to win the Premier League 2023-2024 title. Currently, ‘Man U’ is at position six with 24 points, trailing Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Aston Villa respectively.
Kipchoge’s potential pep talk may end up serving as part of the spark Manchester players will need to boost their skills, endurance and mentality.
This is because Kipchoge is the most prolific marathon runners in the world and is considered the greatest of all time. They will also learn about success, perseverance and humility- all hallmarks of Kipchoge’s character.
Despite losing his recent world marathon record to fellow Kenyan compatriot the late Kelvin Kiptum, Kipchoge has won races in London and Berlin, as is tapped to be the favorite to defend his title at the Paris Olympics come July 2024.
He is also a two-time Olympic marathon winner.
In addition to Eliud Kipchoge, INEOS’ NN Kenyan running team also has Kenya’s Joshua Cheptegei, Geoffrey Kamworor, Selly Chepyego and Daniel Mateiko.
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