Is this the end for Kipchoge?

It's even worse for Kenenisa.

He had a great window to beat the marathon world record and now it is closing. Kipchoge can't do much better than he has done, he has had the WR and the gold at marathon. He only target a second gold I assume.

He'll set up his own like the Ineos thing or else do one of the few marathons that happens

Thanks for the story but they're both rich enough already.

Father time checking in wrote:

No marathons this year, probably not next spring, Olympics a maybe. Not only will nobody else be running anything, but the so-called 35-year-old World Record Holder and best marathoner ever isn't getting any younger.

So called??

Earlyboy wrote:

Father time checking in wrote:

No marathons this year, probably not next spring, Olympics a maybe. Not only will nobody else be running anything, but the so-called 35-year-old World Record Holder and best marathoner ever isn't getting any younger.

So called??

It's been reported many times his real age is likely older, including people who have trained with him. It's a known fact age cheating happens, being a couple years older and stronger makes a huge difference at say the junior xc world championships. Based purely off looks, which is highly subjective, I can't believe he is 35.

SuicidePace wrote:

Earlyboy wrote:

So called??

It's been reported many times his real age is likely older, including people who have trained with him. It's a known fact age cheating happens, being a couple years older and stronger makes a huge difference at say the junior xc world championships. Based purely off looks, which is highly subjective, I can't believe he is 35.

“Age cheating” is definitely not the main reason so many Kenyans are older than their stated age. Many in Africa do not have a birth certificate and later in life when they get a passport have to guess their birthday/age or put down Jan 1st as a birthday. Though there probably are legitimate incentives to put a younger age so they can compete at juniors or run fast times as a junior and attract a better contract, I would imagine they could be pressured to do so by euro/American agents or coaches. To call Eliud a cheat is unfair in my eyes. I recall that Lopez lomong explains some of this stuff regarding birth certificates and passports in his book, and I definitely did not get a sense that him and others had malicious intent to cheat American and European junior athletes lol.

The only shame in this regarding kipchoge is we may never get to know what the true masters record should be.

SuicidePace wrote:

Earlyboy wrote:

So called??

It's been reported many times his real age is likely older, including people who have trained with him. It's a known fact age cheating happens, being a couple years older and stronger makes a huge difference at say the junior xc world championships. Based purely off looks, which is highly subjective, I can't believe he is 35.

Kipchoge is not 35. If he is, then he legitimately beat Bekele and El Guerrouj for gold when he was 18. That is incredibly unlikely.

If Kipchoge is older or even 40+ then he's even more impressive. Choose one.

deranged dad wrote:

If Kipchoge is older or even 40+ then he's even more impressive. Choose one.

You don't know your history. It would not be unheard of for an athlete at the very top of the sport to perform well into their late 30s. Carlos Lopes won the Olympic marathon at 37 and he set the marathon WR when he was 38 as well as dominating world XC in 1985. Kipchoge was at least 20 when he beat Bekele and Guerrouj.

ShilohDoesntCare wrote:

deranged dad wrote:

If Kipchoge is older or even 40+ then he's even more impressive. Choose one.

You don't know your history. It would not be unheard of for an athlete at the very top of the sport to perform well into their late 30s. Carlos Lopes won the Olympic marathon at 37 and he set the marathon WR when he was 38 as well as dominating world XC in 1985. Kipchoge was at least 20 when he beat Bekele and Guerrouj.

The difference is that Lopes was a very late bloomer.

Kipchoge has only one achievement left, sub2 / 2h flat in a legal race. The 2nd olympic gold would be nice but in a way doesn't add too much to his resume, in fact it's seen as an almost certainty that he'd get it if the olympics are just held. He has proven capable of winning everything he tries, including 4 london marathons in a row, winning another olympics is just another win.

But the legit sub2 or close to it, another big improvement on the WR would be a real achievement. He hinted that London 2020 could have been sub 2:01. I hope he gets his chance with a good buildup in an elite only race if need be.

Kenny will snag the Marathon WR before he hangs it up!!

Would love to see him win gold as well. It could happen!

deranged dad wrote:

If Kipchoge is older or even 40+ then he's even more impressive. Choose one.

Exactly! Almost 20 years since that final in Paris where he beat El G and KB, he's still here. Many Western runners have started their professional careers and RETIRED within that time. And it's not just him. Vivian Cheruiyot ran the Olympic 5000m final in Sydney 2000. Either they were their stated ages or they're pushing 50, which would make them superhuman.

Bekele is the GOAT wrote:

Kenny will snag the Marathon WR before he hangs it up!!

Would love to see him win gold as well. It could happen!

He is more likely to DNF at the marathon than get the world record.

Running a sub 2 marathon is still amazing and he’s probably the only one that can do it for awhile until the next great Kipchoge comes along.

El Keniano wrote:

deranged dad wrote:

If Kipchoge is older or even 40+ then he's even more impressive. Choose one.

Exactly! Almost 20 years since that final in Paris where he beat El G and KB, he's still here. Many Western runners have started their professional careers and RETIRED within that time. And it's not just him. Vivian Cheruiyot ran the Olympic 5000m final in Sydney 2000. Either they were their stated ages or they're pushing 50, which would make them superhuman.

Lagat had a similar career, and it's hard to believe that Lagat is supposed to be 10 years older. Kipchoge is in his early-mid 40s, probably around 42-43 years. That's exactly in line with what Zane Robertson (and his brother) were stating, who train in Kenya and really know about these things. They called him 41 two years ago.

Steve Way also PR'ed at 40 in the marathon (2:15, but he was a late-bloomer).

No one is going to Paris IAAF World Championship and start beating the two greatest runners at that time (El Guerrouj and Bekele) in a 5000m as 18-year old kid. You really think an 18-year old is gonna outsprint both the 5000m WR holder at that time and the greatest miler/1500 guy of all time in a 5000m? No, he was in his early/mid 20s at that time already.

Regardless of his age, I was actually thinking about this very topic recently. I do think this will effectively end Bekele's career. It has been a struggle for 10 years, he finally put together a marathon he should have run before, then this...no races for a year or more.

Same deal with Kipchoge. I just can't imagine that almost a year on since his last race, that he will continue to be untouchable.

We're going to have a changing of the guard the next actual marathon season.

What WMM should do is step in, find a city where they can have a 10k circuit or something like that, and then have a WMM branded, elite only race this fall.

Hell, do it at a race track like the original sub 2 thing. Try something different, better filming, commentating. Don't do anything to make people question the results though, like rotating pacers out having a car to draft from.

If they did it right, they could have real telemetry to show, with sensors every 1km and to enable some really granular, live data.

He’s done breaking the world record.

Gold, world record, sub 2, amazing consistency. There’s nothing else left. We all know going sub 2 for a legit Thon is likely out of the cards. I don’t believe it will ever happen.

He will likely go on a twilight retirement tour. Boston, New York, Tokyo...

LateRunnerPhil wrote:

Lagat had a similar career, and it's hard to believe that Lagat is supposed to be 10 years older. Kipchoge is in his early-mid 40s, probably around 42-43 years. That's exactly in line with what Zane Robertson (and his brother) were stating, who train in Kenya and really know about these things. They called him 41 two years ago.

Eliud says he was 19. Can you explain why you would take two kiwis word over his when for all their years living in Kenya:

1. They have made few friends probably due to their cantankerous personalities which just doesn't mesh with the Rift Valley dudes

2. They don't know Eliud and have never interacted with him on a personal level?

3. They've lied before, like when they promised everybody they'd left Kenya for good only to return within three short months?

4. Are yet to learn the Swahili language after nearly 15 years in the country, proving they only have surface interactions with people unlike, say, Julien Wanders?

Why should these two be considered ultimate authorities and the final word on all things East Africa, over the locals even?