Eliud Kipchoge

Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner widely considered one of the greatest marathon runners of all time. Born on 5 November 1984 in Kapsisiywa, Kenya, he first rose to prominence on the track, winning the 5000 metres world title at just eighteen years old at the 2003 World Championships. He went on to claim Olympic bronze in 2004 and silver at the 2008 Olympics, while also medaling at the 2007 World Championships and 2010 Commonwealth Games over 5000 metres.

Kipchoge switched to road running in 2012 and quickly dominated the marathon. He is a two-time Olympic marathon champion (2016 and 2020) and held the world record from 2018 to 2023. He has won the London Marathon a record four times and the Berlin Marathon a record five times, while becoming World Marathon Majors series champion a record five times. With 15 victories in his first 18 marathons, he has run four of the ten fastest marathons in history. On 12 October 2019, he became the first person to run the marathon distance in under two hours, clocking 1:59:40.2 at the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, though the run did not count as an official record.

Kipchoge was appointed Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in recognition of his sub-two-hour achievement. He was named the 2019 BBC World Sport Star of the Year and received the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports in 2023.