He safely skirted the shoes issue and did not specify when he would would run a sub-two hours marathon under approved conditions and with the World Athletics’ approved footwear but on Monday Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge spoke fondly about the rabbits he was chasing in life.
“I always say, I’m chasing one rabbit at a time. And the rabbit I’m chasing, as we are sitting here now, is the London Marathon (on April 26). So, after London Marathon, I will tell you about the next rabbit,” said the Kenyan, in reply to a query from The Hindu here on Monday.
So, can we expect a World record in London?
“Not at all but you can expect a good race, a fruitful race and a race which will get the fans up,” said the 35-year-old.
He said the Nike AlphaFly shoes, with which he made history becoming the first marathoner to break the two-hour barrier in Vienna in October and which forced the world body to bring in new regulations for shoes because it felt that they gave the athletes an unfair advantage, were good.
“I think the shoes are good, the shoes I used were extremely cool,” said the 35-year-old.
But the World Athletics have not been approved them, isn’t it?
“Anyway, you can check with Nike. But I think they are good,” said Kipchoge.
Freedom
Despite being the world’s best, Kipchoge is a soft-spoken man, almost whispering his answers. He felt running gave him freedom and that is why one often sees him smiling while finishing a marathon.
“They say running is the only place where you can get freedom. So, when you see me smiling, you know that I’m free in this world. I’m really exercising this freedom when I’m running.”
He explained that running in teams back home gave him strength. “The team is what gives me strength. The team is what makes me run as fast and forceful. Without the team, I can tell you nothing will happen.”
(The author is in Berlin at the invitation of Laureus).
