Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan marathon ace has revealed that the is focused on the Berlin marathon slated on Sunday and he is trying to break the course record of 2:01:39 which was set by Kipchoge himself back in 2018.

The Sunday showdown will be the first time Eliud Kipchoge will be taking part in the Berlin marathon since 2018 when he made history. The greatest marathoner of all time broke his compatriot Dennis Kimetto’s previous 2:02:57 world record set four years before in Berlin. 

Kipchoge arrived in Berlin early this week brimming with confidence as he say he is in better shape and he expects a good race in the German capital. This comes from the backdrop of him Winning his second gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics last year before him returning to the Japanese capital in March to claim yet another honor in the Tokyo marathon.

All is not too rosy for the world champion as he will face a spirited challenge from  Guye Adola of Ethiopia, who will be in Berlin as the defending champion and a favourite. This will be a rematch of the 2017 edition where Kipchoge and Adola fought it out upto the finishing line with Kipchoge winning narrowly as the defending champion followed up only 14 seconds later to emerge second.

Fans will be keenly watching whether Kipchoge, who has stormed to three victories at the Berlin Marathon so far, will launch negative splits on his 2018 world record pace. 

For instance, if all goes well, Kipchoge will have to pass the 30km mark 1:26:44 or faster because he crossed the distance in a time of 1:26:45 four years ago. 

Kipchoge was the first person to run a marathon in under two hours when he set a time of 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019, however it did not count towards the world mark as the run was not consistent with IAAF rules. We await to see if the GOAT will once more make history tomorrow.