Eliud Kipchoge has suffered a major blow in preparations for the Paris Olympics after running perhaps the worst marathon of his matchless career in Tokyo. The 39-year-old Kenyan legend, who’s hoping to go for a third straight gold in Paris, could only finish 10th in the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday. Kenya hasn’t named its marathon team for the Games, but Kipchoge looked a shadow of his former self as he crossed the line in two hours, six minutes and 50 seconds. Tenth place was his worst ever finish in a marathon, leaving Kipchoge to shrug afterwards: “That’s how it is — not every day is Christmas Day”. Ethiopia’s Sutume Asefa Kebede won the women’s race, also in a course record time of 2:15:55, while Dutch great Sifan Hassan missed the podium.

Source: Ethiopian News March 04, 2024 02:45 UTC