Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge defends his Olympic gold medal in Tokyo with another sensational performance in the men’s marathon to cement his status among all-time greats
- Eliud Kipchoge was in supreme form and underlined status as the greatest
- Kenyan gradually put the pressure on his rivals and they fell away from him
- Abdi Nageeye took silver for the Netherlands and Bashir Abdi won bronze
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge won the Olympic men’s marathon with a commanding performance in Sapporo on Sunday, winning his second straight gold medal and cementing his place among the all-time greats of the sport.
Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands took silver and Belgium’s Bashir Abdi won bronze.
Kipchoge, 36, joins Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila (1960 and 1964) and East Germany’s Waldemar Cierpinski (1976 and 1980) as the only runners to win back-to-back gold medals on the Olympic stage.
Eliud Kipchoge’s win in the men’s marathon never seemed in doubt and he claimed gold
The Kenyan stormed away from his competitors to underline his status as the greatest
Kenya’s Kipchoge controlled the race and gradually moved away from his rivals
The world record holder has now won four Olympic medals overall, having also taken silver in 2008 and bronze in 2004 in the 5000m.
Kipchoge showed why he was the man to beat going into Sunday’s race when he took full control as he pushed ahead of the pack after the 30km mark.
By the 35km stage he had jumped out to a lead of 27 seconds from a virtual tie 5km earlier and extended it to one minute and 17 seconds by 40km.
Kipchoge finished in two hours, eight minutes and 38 seconds, holding up two fingers as he crossed the finish line.
It was a warm day in Tokyo as the men’s marathon took place on Sunday morning
The athletes sped past some Tokyo landmarks and crowds gathered to watch on