Eliud Kipchoge Wins Back-to-Back Olympic Marathon Gold

Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya became the second man in Olympic history to win the marathon twice. He did so on Sunday in Sapporo.

The world record holder completed the 42 km circuit in 2:08:38, capturing his second Olympic gold medal after taking first place in Rio five years ago.

Contents

1 Eliud Kipchoge Wins Back-to-Back Olympic Marathon Gold
2 By Winning the Marathon Twice in a Row,
3 Despite My Repeated Attempts,
4 Seventy-Six of the 106 Starters Finished the Race.
5 Conclusion

Eliud Kipchoge Wins Back-to-Back Olympic Marathon Gold

Kipchoge, the heavy favourite to win a second straight title, was able to pull away strongly around the 31-kilometer mark and finish 1 minute and 20 seconds ahead of the second-placed Dutchman Abdi Nageeye.

This was the largest winning margin in an Olympic marathon since the 1972 Games. Bashir Abdi, a training companion of Nageeye’s from Belgium, won bronze in 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

Kipchoge followed in the footsteps of Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, who won the marathon in 1960 and 1964, and Waldemar Cierpinksi of the GDR, who won in 1980 and 1984, by becoming the third athlete in history to win the marathon twice in a row.

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By Winning the Marathon Twice in a Row,

I feel that I have done justice to the tradition. Kipchoge added, “It is now my goal to encourage the next generation.”

It means a great deal to me right now. When the Olympic Games were delayed last year, it was a trying time. My congratulations go out to the race’s local organisers. According to Kipchoge, “it is a sign that shows the world we are headed in the right route — we are on the right transition to a regular existence.”

For the marathon, Kipchoge set the world record in Berlin in 2018 with a time of 2 hours, 1 minute, and 39 seconds. In addition to his silver medals at the 5000m at the 2008 Olympics and the 2007 World Championships, he won the World Championships gold at that distance in 2003.

Kipchoge started in cooler temperatures than the previous days and stayed with the leading pack the entire way, eventually breaking away at 31 kilometres and running the final seven kilometres alone.

Minor medals were fought for by Nageeye, Abdi, Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono, and Spain’s Ayad Lamdassem. Eventually, Cherono, who turned 33 yesterday, finished fourth in 2:10:02, while the Spaniard came in fifth in 2:10:16.

Despite My Repeated Attempts,

I was never able to break into the top three. Nageeye, who placed eleventh in Rio, explained, “So I was just focusing today.”

According to Nageeye, “I just knew I was going to win a medal when I reached 39 kilometres.”

Abdi remarked that he would not have made it to the podium if not for Nageeye’s encouragement during the final 3 kilometres after he began to experience cramps. Abdi recounted that his training companion had been encouraging him to leave in the closing stages, when the excessive humidity was making it difficult for him to continue despite the bearable temperatures.

Sixth place went to Japanese runner Suguru Osako (2:10:41), followed by Chinese runner Yang Shaohui (2:14:58), Bahrain’s El Hassan El Abbassi (2:15:56), Chinese runner Peng Jianhua (2:16:39), Chinese runner Dong Guojian (2:21:35), Japanese runner Shogo Nakamura (2:22:23), and Japanese runner Yuma Hattori (2:30:08).

Seventy-Six of the 106 Starters Finished the Race.

Among those who dropped out at various stages are world champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, 2020 London marathon winner Shura Kitata of Ethiopia, 2012 Olympic gold medallist Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda and 2019 World championship bronze medallist Amos Kipruto of Kenya. Korean Joohan Oh and Bahrainis Shumi Dechasa and Alemu Bekele were were among the withdrawing athletes.

Tachlowini Gabriyesos did quite well, clocking in at 2:14:02 and placing 16th, making her the first member of the refugee squad to qualify for the Olympics.

There was a closing ceremony in Tokyo when the men’s and women’s marathon medals were awarded. Lord Sebastian Coe, president of world athletics, and IOC member Ms. Anita DeFrantz presented the medals to the women and men who won medals.

With seven gold, twelve silver, and seven bronze, the United States dominated the athletics medal count. Italy, which surprised everyone by doing well, came in second with five victories. With a 4-4-2 record, Kenya moved up to third place.

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Conclusion

China earned a total of seven medals, two gold, two silver, and one bronze, placing it seventh among Asian nations. Gold medals went to India and Qatar, silver to Bahrain and bronze to the host country of Japan. Thanks for read our Article Eliud Kipchoge Wins Back-to-Back Olympic Marathon Gold.