World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum has shrugged off any rivalry with Eliud Kipchoge by stressing the need to work as a team if both are selected for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum says there will be no ego wars between him and Eliud Kipchoge if both are selected to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Kiptum and the man whose time he lowered, Kipchoge have both expressed a desire to feature at the Olympics and there is every indication that both of them will be on the final list of three that will head to Paris.
While some observers have been skeptical about the decision to put the two against each other at the Olympics, Kiptum feels teamwork will be necessary for Team Kenya to achieve their objectives in Paris.
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“If I am selected for the Olympics, I think you have to go there as a team, to help each other and then see the results,” Kiptum told World Athletics while stressing that there is no bad blood between him and Kipchoge. “I know Eliud,” Kiptum said. “He is a good athlete. I respect him.”
Besides Kiptum and Kipchoge, Vincent Ngetich, second at the Berlin Marathon this year, Rotterdam Marathon runners-up Timothy Kiplagat, former Chicago and Boston Marathon champion Benson Kipruto, Bernard Koech, two-time New York Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, Cyprian Kotut, 2022 London Marathon champion Amos Kipruto and Titus Kipruto are also on the list.
While it is still not known which race Kipchoge will sign up for before the Olympics, Kiptum is already preparing for the Rotterdam Marathon which will take place on April 13, 2024.
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The veteran coach has detailed how Team Kenya will ensure both Eliud Kipchoge & Kelvin Kiptum work as a team and deliver gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics despite their emerging rivalry.
He will return to Rotterdam where he had hoped to make his marathon debut before an injury put paid to his hopes, having acted as a pacemaker in 2019.
“It will give me time to prepare for the Paris Olympics. After Rotterdam I will go to the Olympics,” he added.
“I have just started my training and I hope to go there and do my best. Maybe to beat my time. I think I try each time to push my limit.”
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Kiptum holds three of the sixth fastest marathon times in history, having made his debut in Valencia (2:01:53) last December before London (2:01:25) in April and Chicago (2:00:35) in October this year.
The 24-year-old will be making his Olympics debut in Paris while Kipchoge will be aiming to become the first man to win three Olympic gold medals in a marathon after victories in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
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