Marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge will not feature at this year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Athletics Kenya has confirmed.
The event, set for September 13–21, will go on without the two-time Olympic marathon champion, who has opted to step aside to give emerging Kenyan talent a chance to shine on the global stage.
Athletics Kenya youth and development director Barnaba Korir said Kipchoge made the decision voluntarily, as part of his ongoing support for the next generation of athletes.
Kipchoge made his World Championships debut in 2003 in Paris, stunning the world with a gold medal in the 5,000m at just 18 years old.
He went on to win silver in Osaka in 2007, finished fifth in Berlin in 2009, and wrapped up his track Worlds career with a seventh-place finish in Daegu in 2011.
Since switching to the marathon, Kipchoge cemented his status as one of the greatest distance runners of all time, with record-breaking performances and global acclaim.
“We asked Kipchoge if he would participate, but he said he would prefer someone else to go this time around. We don’t want to pressure him, although we’d have liked him to go,” said Korir in an interview.
“What many people don’t know is that his participation on the biggest stage inspires a lot of athletes. Some of these athletes are fired up when they see the greats lining up with them.”
Kenya boasts a deep pool of world-class athletics talent
Korir added that selecting Kenya’s marathon team is never straightforward, given the country’s deep pool of world-class talent, further explaining that participation at the World Championships is also voluntary, and many top athletes have already declined to compete at the tournament.
“Kenya has many talented athletes, and it is always a headache to select three from the pool. However, it depends on who is willing to participate because many athletes have already opted out,” he said.
Similarly, he noted that the final squad that will represent Kenya at the tournament will be chosen based on merit, taking into account athletes’ world rankings and their performances in various international races.
“We will select a team of marathoners through merit. We will use rankings and performances in different competitions from a group of those who will be accepted to go to the world championships. There are athletes who do well in marathon majors but fail in championships and vice versa. We have to factor in everything,” he said.
Athletes in most track and field events will compete for slots at the World Championships during the national trials set for Tuesday at the Ulinzi Sports Complex, with 150 pre-selected competitors expected to participate.
Trials for the men’s 10,000m and women’s 5,000m were conducted earlier at the Prefontaine Classic, where Edwin Kurgat and Ishmael Kipkurui qualified for the men’s race, while Beatrice Chebet and Agnes Ng’etich secured spots in the women’s 5,000m.
