For a man who settles for nothing less than the best, missing the London 2012 Olympics was the most painful moment in the celebrated career of distance runner, Eliud Kipchoge.
The Athens 2004 bronze and Beijing 2008 silver medallist made two failed attempts to make the London 2012 squad in the only significant blot in the stellar performances of the athlete, 31, who has 14 years of running at the top level under his belt.
On June 1, Kipchoge was forced to seventh (27:11.93) at the controversial 10000m Kenyan Trial at the IAAF Diamond League Pre Fontaine Classic meeting in Eugene, Oregon and on June 23, he was the biggest victim of the brutal 5000m selection race at Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium when he repeated his position (13:25.47) to crash out of London 2012 altogether.
To add insult to Athletics Kenya (AK) selectors overlooked his experience in handing novice Emmanuel Bett the fourth slot on June 23 since the winner, Isaiah Kiplangat Koech has the wildcard after winning the previous season’s IAAF Diamond League.
It was events of June 2012 that altered the complexion of Kipchoge’s career after making the telling decision that ultimately, rewarded him with his cherished dream of featuring at a third Olympics where he is hoping to complete the set of medals with the coveted gold.
“I’m happy to be given a chance to participate in marathon at the Olympics. This will be crucial to me since I have never won a gold in the Olympics, it’s more than important,” the two-time London Marathon champion told Citizen Digital from his home in Eldoret.
It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for the man who punched his ticket for Rio 2016 when he demolished a world class field to defend his London title in 2:03:05, the second fastest ever on April 24.
His jaw-dropping performance at the streets of the British capital where he came to withing eight seconds of the world record (2:02:57) has installed him as the overwhelming favourite for the top medal in Brazil but he not one to be taken in by top billing.
“I’m going to approach it carefully and I’m not going to underrate anyone because you never know what will happen. In this Olympics everyone wants to win a gold medal,” the gifted runner who announced his presence to the world by beating Ethiopian greats, Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrsellasie to the 5000m gold medal at the 2003 World Championships as a teenager declared.
Like any Kenyan in the Rio 2016 marathon line-up, Kipchoge has the golden footsteps of Beijing 2008 champion and Olympics record holder, the late Samuel Wanjiru (2:06:32) to follow.
“It will take a lot of time, sacrifices, perseverance and patience to win Olympics gold if you watch what the late Wanjiru did. I’m sorry Wanjiru died before he fully celebrated his performance. It takes a lot of time,” he added.
His failed bid to make the London 2012 party informed him it was time to abandon his cherished track and pursue road running where he was facing an imposing generation of established stars to make an impact.
“Everything I had was gone and I needed to look ahead. This is life you have to accept outcomes whether they are bad or good and you have to know there are ups and downs. I had hope I will make it again and so I focused on the future and it paid off,” he stressed.
His successful shift from track to road has baffled many and ever the philosopher, Kipchoge offered his time honoured response to the secret behind his longevity and success.
“First thing that keeps me going it’s the love of sports. Secondly, its the will,” he quipped.
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