LONDON • Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge has chosen April's London Marathon for his first race since becoming the first person to run a marathon in under two hours, the organisers said yesterday.
Kipchoge, who clocked 1hr 59min 40sec in a special race in October, will be seeking his fifth London title in the April 26 event.
His barrier-breaking run in Vienna did not count as an official world record owing to the use of "in and out" pacers and a moving drinks provider.
The 35-year-old already holds the world record with his 2:01:39 from winning the Berlin Marathon in September last year.
"I love running in London where the crowd support is always wonderful," said Kipchoge, who won Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Games.
"Breaking the two-hour barrier in Vienna was an incredible moment. It showed that no human is limited and that is a belief that continues to drive me on to set new objectives.
"Making history in London is my next target. I am proud that I am currently the only male able-bodied athlete to have won this great race four times and that no one, male or female, has won it more than that."
He is tied with Ingrid Kristiansen for the most wins in London by an able-bodied athlete. The Norwegian won four London Marathon titles from 1984 to 1988.
Kipchoge's London titles came in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
He broke his own London Marathon record - 2:03:05 set in 2016 - by 28 seconds in April. His time of 2:02:37 is the second fastest marathon time in history, after his Berlin effort.
British wheelchair athletes David Weir and Tanni Grey-Thompson have won the race eight and six times respectively.
Separately, it was also announced yesterday that Kipchoge was voted BBC Sports Personality's World Sport Star of the Year.
He topped an online public vote and beat the likes of American gymnast Simone Biles, South Africa's Rugby World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi, Australian cricketer Steve Smith, American golfer Tiger Woods and United States footballer Megan Rapinoe, who co-led her team to World Cup victory again in July.
REUTERS
