DPA
Berlin
Twice Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has announced he will not compete at the 2028 Games.
“I will be in Los Angeles, but in a different capacity and not as a runner. I will be there to help encourage people in the city to run,” the Kenyan told Sport Bild on Wednesday.
The former world record holder, who will be 43 years old at the next Games, struggled badly in the Paris Olympics in August and gave up halfway through with back pain.
“You train for six months for a fight, then you’re in the ring and get knocked out after 30 seconds. That’s life. I accepted the result,” Kipchoge said, comparing the race to a boxing match.
The soon-to-be 40-year-old left it open as to when exactly he will end his career.
He is not competing on Sunday in the Berlin Marathon, which he has won a record five times while setting two world records.
In Vienna in 2019, Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours. But as the race took place with pacemakers and no competitors, the time of 1:59:40 is not an official world record.
The current record stands at 2:00:35, run by the late Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum.
Kipchoge believes the 2-hour mark will soon be broken in an official race.
“That moment is not that far away. We just need the right people to try,” he said.
