Junior won't race with Kipchoge at Berlin Marathon 2023

The second fastest marathoner in history, Kelvin Kiptum, will not compete with his legendary senior Eliud Kipchoge at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.

On July 26, the Chicago Marathon 2023 Twitter page confirmed that Kiptum will compete in the North American race for the first time on October 8. Thus, the Kenyan runner will not compete with the legendary Kipchoge at the Berlin Marathon 2023 on September 24.

Over the past eight months, Kiptum has continued to make waves, emerging as one of the fastest marathoners in the world. At the 2022 Valencia Marathon, he crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 1 minute, 53 seconds, becoming the fastest marathon debutant in history.

Five months later, the 23-year-old improved his PB to win the London Marathon in 2 hours, 1 minute, 25 seconds, setting a new course record—16 seconds slower than Kipchoge’s world record. Only three runners in history have broken 2:02, and Kiptum is the only marathoner under the age of 35 to do so.

Kiptum won the 2023 London Marathon. Photo: AFP — Kiptum won the 2023 London Marathon. Photo: *AFP*

Despite winning both of his first two marathons, Kiptum is still relatively new to the big marathon scene. The 23-year-old trains on his own and did not start running marathons as early as his compatriot Kipchoge or Ethiopian star Kenenisa Bekele.

In June, Kiptum was selected to run in the Kenyan marathon at the World Athletics Championships from August 18 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary. But he declined to focus on the big marathons in the fall, in Chicago or Berlin.

The move has led to speculation that Kiptum will face Kipchoge directly in Berlin, which has the flattest course of the world’s six major marathons and has a pacer. The men’s marathon world record has been broken eight times since 2003, all in Berlin. Kipchoge set a world record in Berlin last year, clocking 2 hours 1 minute 9 seconds, beating his own 2018 record of 2 hours 1 minute 39 seconds.

According to Canadian Running Magazine , the choice of the Chicago Marathon, which takes place two weeks after Berlin, clearly shows Kiptum's intention to continue his winning streak and break Kipchoge's record. Although not as favorable as Berlin, Chicago's course is still flat, with a total elevation gain of 74m, giving the Kenyan runner a great opportunity.

But Kiptum will not have an easy time achieving this goal, as he will be up against one of the world's best tactical marathoners and defending champion Benson Kipruto. Kipruto finished second at the 2023 Boston Marathon, where he finished second to defending champion Evans Chebet in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 54 seconds.

The elite group attending Chicago 2023 also includes Seifu Tura - the Ethiopian runner who won the 2021 tournament and was runner-up last year, Galen Rupp, Conner Mantz and Bashir Abdi - the Belgian runner who won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

In the women's category, the Chicago Marathon organizers announced three superstars who have confirmed their participation in this year's race since early last month, including Ruth Chepngetich - a Kenyan runner aiming for a third consecutive Chicago Marathon title, London Marathon champion Sifan Hassan and American marathon record holder Emily Sisson. This year's elite list also includes Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba, Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei and Molly Seidel - the runner who finished second at the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials.

The Chicago Marathon was founded in 1977 and is part of the World Marathon Majors, which also includes Boston, New York City, London, Berlin and Tokyo. The men's record for the Chicago Marathon is 2 hours 3 minutes 45 seconds, set by Kenyan Dennis Kimetto in 2013. The women's record is held by Brigid Kosgei, who ran 2 hours 14 minutes 4 seconds in 2019.

Between now and the end of the year, the major system has tournaments in Berlin on September 24, Chicago on August 10 and New York City on November 5. In addition, elite athletes also choose to compete in the marathon event of the World Athletics Championships taking place from August 18 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.

Hong Duy

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