BERLIN, Jan. 17 (dpa / EP) –
The Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele and the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, the two fastest marathoners today, will meet this April 26 in the London marathon, confirmed the organization of the test on Friday.
The four-time winner in the British capital, Kipchoge, holds the current world record with a mark of 2 hours, 1 minute and 39 seconds in the 2018 race in Berlin. Bekele, meanwhile, reached two seconds of that mark last year in the German capital and took the second best time of all time.
Bekele spoke of “pending issues” when referring to the goal of winning his first victory in London and beating Kipchoge for the first time in his fifth meeting on the classic 42,195 km distance, after two duels in London 2016 and 2018.
“I am eager to compete against Eliud once again. We have had many great battles throughout these years on the tracks, roads and cross country. He is a special athlete and he demonstrated it again with his magnificent achievements last year. I feel that my victory in Berlin showed that I am still able to win the biggest races in the world and in world class times, “Bekele explained.
Last October, Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in Vienna to become the first man to cover the distance below two hours. However, the World Athletics did not approve the record, as it did not take place in an official race or in an approved course; In addition, the rest of the hares, which could enter and leave doing rotations, and the fact that no anti-doping control was carried out were other impediments for the chrono not to slip between the officers.
Kipchoge has won 11 of the 12 marathons in which he has participated, including the 2016 Olympic race in Rio. He only lost in his debut career in 2013 in Berlin, being second behind his compatriot Wilson Kipsang.
If the Kenyan never won an important track title, Bekele has eight, three in the Olympic Games and five in the World Cups, and is still the world record holder of 5,000 and 10,000 meters. His best marathon moments are the victories of 2016 and 2019 in Berlin and 2014 in Paris.