With the 2025 London Marathon on his schedule this spring, the world’s fastest-living marathoner, Eliud Kipchoge, is already including fall races to his calendar. His plans? To run a race he’s by no means accomplished earlier than, in a rustic he’s by no means raced in: headlining the 2025 Sydney Marathon on Aug 31.
Within the race’s first yr as an Abbott World Marathon Main, with an anticipated record-breaking 35,000 finishers, the TCS Sydney Marathon has introduced one of many sport’s greatest stars. Kipchoge is the one human in historical past to run the marathon distance in beneath two hours, clocking 1:59:40 on the INEOS 1:59 Problem in 2019. He’s a two-time Olympic gold medallist (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020) and an 11-time marathon main champion, together with 4 victories on the TCS London Marathon, 5 on the BMW Berlin Marathon, and single titles on the Chicago Marathon and Tokyo Marathon.
The 40-year-old has been a goal for the Sydney Marathon for the final two years. In 2023, the race launched a social media marketing campaign to lure Kipchoge to the 2024 occasion. Final yr, being an Olympic yr, Kipchoge needed to decline, however now he’s making it as much as the race in 2025.
The president of Athletics Australia, Jane Flemming, expects Kipchoge’s presence on the Sydney Marathon to vary marathoning within the nation. “Eliud Kipchoge’s sub-two-hour marathon locations him amongst groundbreaking sports activities legends reminiscent of Roger Bannister, Usain Bolt, Muhammad Ali, Roger Federer and [eight-time Olympic medallist, Australian swimmer] Daybreak Fraser. We look ahead to welcoming him,” mentioned Flemming.
In a press launch, Kipchoge expressed his pleasure to race in Australia for the primary time. “Working has the facility to encourage and unite individuals, and I look ahead to becoming a member of the great Australian working group because the nation and the world embrace this quickly rising occasion. Each marathon is a brand new problem, and I’m keen to check myself on the streets of this stunning metropolis. I hope to see you all in Sydney!”
The previous world document holder is the second-fastest marathoner in historical past, behind the late Kelvin Kiptum, with an official private finest of two:01:09 set two and a half years in the past on the 2022 BMW Berlin Marathon.
Kipchoge working in Sydney on Aug. 31 means we gained’t seemingly see him on the Berlin Marathon or the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, which shall be held practically two weeks later. The one marathon main Kipchoge has not but run is the New York Metropolis Marathon.
The Sydney Marathon is Australia’s largest marathon and the seventh marathon main. Final yr, the race had a document 25,000 finishers.