FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Eliud Kipchoge credits teamwork for his Success after 'Moon Landing'
Eliud Kipchoge astounded the running world by taking the huge chunk of one
minute, 18 seconds off the world record at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.
Germany's most spectacular road race was the stage for the moon landing of
marathon running on Sunday. But the Olympic champion still had enough
energy in reserve to take to social media in the next few hours and express
his appreciation of the part played by the various teams which make up the
community around the greatest marathon runner of the modern era.
He expanded on the importance of this community while relaxing the next
morning in an arm chair in the hotel lobby within easy jogging distance of
the finish line where he took the marathon into new territory with his time
of 2:01:39.
"In sport you need to have a good team. That's why, in terms of where I'm
going to run next, I'm going to have a full discussion with the management,
with the sponsors, technical team, coaching team. It's part of the team
where they hold me in their hands."
This was a point he made strongly in response to the last question posed at
Sunday's press conference where the assembled media were digesting the
enormity of his achievement. Before any decision about his future racing,
he would consult with this community.
He and coach Patrick Sang, the latter himself with a distinguished track
pedigree as an Olympic silver medallist in the steeplechase, have a
partnership going back many years. Together they have created the path
which took the then 18-year-old to the World 5,000m title in Paris in 2003
to his current supremacy in the marathon. But the multi-faceted aspects of
Kipchoge's teams or community have taken time to develop.
"It's not a one-day event to bring together a good team, it takes ages but
I'm lucky to be working with Global Sports Communication [GSC - his
management team] and to be with people who think in a really positive way
and we have come a long way together. That's why we have our team-mates and
we think together, we have a coaching system, management system, the
sponsorship systems and, above all, we have the medical system whereby they
handle us with massage and everything."
It is an approach which could be summarised from the Biblical injunction of
"To every Thing, there is a Season." Hence Eliud Kipchoge responded that it
was too soon to consider if he could improve his world record further,
having watched the last few kilometres on television last night. "It's too
early to do that because it's only a few hours since I ran the fastest time
ever. I don't think it's good to think about it - the core thing now is to
make sure I recover fully."
While saying it is also too early to consider whether he wants to compete
in the marathon at the World Championships in Doha next year, he doesn't
lose sight of the fact that he is the reigning Olympic champion and Tokyo
2020 draws ever closer. If he is on the start line in Tokyo, his
preparation for the race of races in the distance firmament will not differ
from that for a big city race where finishing time as well as place are
significant.
"It's about the gold medal but the preparation is the same - you should be
comfortable with pacemakers and without pacemakers. Tokyo seems far away
but it's at the back of my mind that I will really assemble myself in
Tokyo. I am the Olympic champion and I feel like defending my title." As we
witnessed at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on Sunday, when Eliud Kipchoge and his
team set their sights on something, there is currently no-one else in the
marathon world to match him.
One thing is sure from his comments after the race, Eliud Kipchoge does
want to return to Berlin. It remains to be seen if that might already
happen at the 46th edition of BMW BERLIN-MARATHON which will be held on 29
September 2019. "Definitely I will be coming back. I always say Berlin is
for me forever." Perhaps Eliud Kipchoge will send the marathon world even
further into orbit at a future edition of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.
More information is available online at: www.berlin-marathon.com
###
|
