Kipchoge Aims for Marathon History in Cape Town

Two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge is set to make marathon history this weekend when he takes part in the Cape Town marathon in South Africa. Kipchoge arrived in South Africa on Tuesday evening, motivated to support the race’s bid to become the first Abbott World Marathon Major on the African continent.

"Cape Town is a beautiful city, and I hope this weekend will bring a beautiful race that will get everyone out on the streets to run," Kipchoge said.

Kipchoge's vision extends far beyond the finish line. "I want to help this event grow to 60,000 participants and become part of the Majors. As an African, I support this and am working towards it," he added.

"We still don't have a Major marathon in Africa, but this is a developing continent, and it's our time as Africans for Cape Town to become one of the world's Majors."

Cape Town marks the first stop in Kipchoge's quest to run on all seven continents over the next two years. He uses this journey to inspire people to adopt a healthier lifestyle and celebrate the universal language of long-distance running.

Kipchoge arrives in Cape Town with an impressive track record in marathon running. Besides his two gold medals from Rio de Janeiro in 2016 (2:08:44) and Tokyo in 2020 (2:08:38), he remains the most titled athlete in the Abbott World Marathon Majors, with 11 victories.

His dominance in Berlin is legendary, with five titles from 2015 (2:04:00), 2017 (2:03:32), 2018 (2:01:39), 2022 (2:01:09), and 2023 (2:02:42), along with a second-place finish in 2023 (2:03:23).

He has four wins in London – 2015 (2:04:42), 2016 (2:03:05), 2018 (2:04:17), and 2019 (2:02:37) – as well as victories in Chicago in 2014 (2:04:11) and Tokyo in 2021 (2:02:40).

He improved the world record twice at the Berlin Marathon – 2:01:39 in 2018 and 2:01:09 in 2022 – before it was broken by the late Kipruto in Chicago in 2023 (2:00:35) and later by Sebastian Sava in London in 2026 (1:59:40).

Kipchoge was also the first person to break the mythical two-hour barrier, unofficially, with a time of 1:59:40 during the INEOS 1:59 challenge in Vienna.

This weekend, Kipchoge will be joined by 2024 Doha marathon champion Stephen Kiprop and Paris Marathon winner Bernard Kipyego. They will face silver medalist from the 2023 World Championships, Maru Teferi.

Kipchoge's wife, 46-year-old Brigid Kosgei, also carries an aura of perfection and longevity to Cape Town. She is a two-time world champion from Doha 2011 (2:28:43) and Moscow 2013 (2:25:44).

Her illustrious career includes victories in the Boston Marathon in 2017 (2:21:52) and 2021 (2:25:09), as well as triumphs in New York in 2010 (2:28:20) and London in 2014 (2:20:19).

She also finished second multiple times in London (2011, 2012, and 2013), Chicago (2016), and Boston (2019), highlighting her remarkable consistency at the elite level.

Kosgei will face serious competition, including Tokyo 2020 marathon champion Lona Salpeter and 2025 Xiamen marathon winner Ruth Chepngetich.