How Fast Is Eliud Kipchoge? This Treadmill Keeps His Pace

“Even some of the best in the world can struggle on the Tumbleator,” Coyle said.

A few days later, Kipchoge went on to win the race. Farah finished in fifth place.

It should be noted that Kipchoge was not born a champion. As a child in Kapsisiywa, a small village in western Kenya, he ran back and forth to school. As a teenager, he helped support his family by collecting milk from neighbors and selling it at a market. A more formal introduction to running came at age 16, when Patrick Sang, an Olympic silver medalist in the steeplechase, returned to Kenya to organize sports events. Kipchoge soon became a protégé. Sang, 58, has remained his coach.

At 18, Kipchoge won a world championship in the 5,000 meters. He followed that with a pair of Olympic medals in the event, winning bronze in 2004 and silver in 2008. He transitioned to the marathon in 2013.

He has since owned the event, winning 10 world marathon majors and 15 of the 17 marathons he has entered. At the Tokyo Games held in 2021, he successfully defended his 2016 Olympic title in dominant fashion. And last year, he broke his own world record by shaving 30 seconds from it. He has officially clocked four of the six fastest marathons ever.

In October 2022, when Kipchoge got a chance to see the Tumbleator in action before the London Marathon, he wished participants luck in “trying out my new world-record pace.” (He also apologized to race officials for breaking the world record, since some of their signage was then outdated.) More spills ensued.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/14/sports/kipchoge-boston-marathon-pace.html