Marathons talks to Eliud Kipchoge: “Faith is the best woman for this challenge”
© STADIONEliud Kipchoge, the only man to have run a marathon in under two hours, spoke about the performance awaiting his compatriot and friend Faith Kipyegon tonight. In an interview conducted by Simon Bairu, Faith’s sports marketing partner and a close friend of both Kenyan athletes, the challenges faced by the marathoner, particularly during the “Breaking 2” project, were compared with the one facing the middle-distance star tonight at Stade Charléty as she takes on the mile in “Breaking 4”. When the road-running legend speaks, we listen. An interview with the marathon king.
Looking back at the “Breaking 2” project in 2017. You came within just 25 seconds of breaking the two-hour marathon barrier. Can you tell us about your preparation before the event that morning?
In 2017, Breaking 2 was a huge project. As a team, we worked day and night to achieve our goal. But we fell 25 seconds short, even though I still consider it a major and successful event. That’s why I always say that in 2017, the world record was just 25 seconds away. Tonight, the world record is only seven seconds away..
© STADION-ACTUHow were you able to help Faith prepare through the experience you had been through?
My role with Faith was to tell her the story of breaking the impossible, of daring to dream, daring to think, daring to try, and attempting to do what no one had ever dared to do. That’s what it was all about. Faith has already achieved so much. She has broken records, won medals at the World Championships and won medals at the Olympic Games. But now she is about to write a page of history that will resonate with the six billion people on this planet.
Tonight is a moment when women will be able to celebrate one another. This moment will show that there is a girl, a woman, in Haiti, Indonesia, Africa or South America, who can get up one morning, set herself a goal, work to achieve it and tell the world: let’s unite, we are the same. Let’s do it now.
“ Together with the whole team, we came together to think things through with Faith, give her real motivation in training and make sure her mind was calm enough to handle the effort.
You often say two things that I really like: first, that no human being is limited, and second, that running is not an individual sport. Can you explain how you and your team collectively helped Faith throughout this journey?
We have an excellent team in Kenya. We believe in teamwork, in unity, in building a community of teammates, in mutual respect and in choosing to work together. So the whole team came together to think things through with Faith, give her real motivation in training and make sure her mind was calm enough to handle the effort. That’s our role. That’s why I always tell Faith: no human being is limited; you have no limits. And now Faith tells me that she dares to dream. She dared to dream on behalf of other women.
What role do you think the supporters in the stadium will play? How can their energy help Faith during her attempt to break the four-minute barrier?
The fans in the stadium are crucial, really, really important, because supporters have their own role to play, their own share in the performance. The encouragement and love they show Faith tonight will genuinely count towards the overall performance. The fans will have their own impact tonight, their own contribution, and they will have to push her simply by cheering. That’s their way of contributing. You know, one second or two seconds can come from the fans. And now we’re only a few hours away.
© STADION-ACTUWhy do you think Faith is the best woman for this challenge?
I think Faith is the best woman for this challenge because she dares to dream, she dares to try, and today she dares to do it because she is capable of it.
What advice would you give to people who want to achieve their dreams?
My advice is that life is full of opportunities, that it is about having dreams, and that following our dreams makes life more beautiful and allows us to enjoy it more. Please set yourself a dream, work towards it, and that is what will move you forward every day, day after day. So let’s set our dreams, work on them, learn and enjoy this life.
The fans in the stadium are crucial, really, really important, because supporters have their own role to play, their own share in the performance.
Will Faith Kipyegon follow in Eliud Kipchoge’s footsteps, with the marathon star in the stands at the Paris stadium tonight to watch the 1,609-metre race closely? Already the world-record holder at the distance, she is not chasing a faster time this time but the symbolic four-minute barrier. To achieve it, she will have to run each of her four laps at an average pace twice as fast as the one she held for her 4:07.64 world record, set in 2023.
The answer is expected at around 8:03 p.m., if everything goes according to plan.