Eliud the Great

On Sunday, August 21, 2016, Eliud Kipchoge won the gold medal in the Rio Olympics. Eliud is no stranger to winning. The winning time was also not special. He normally wins with times five minutes faster. But this was the Olympics and time wasn't the most important thing. Winning was. And Eliud Kipchoge won in style.

The conditions in Rio weren't perfect, which made for the slower times. The leading pack was fairly large well into the race, which only picked up in the latter stages, closer to mile-22 of the 26.2 mile race.

Eliud Kipchoge has a marvellous running style to watch. Bouncy and energetic. There are some who would say that Kipchoge's running style wastes energy, but I think that his style is what uniquely allows him to excel so well.

In the London Marathon in April 2016, he came close to breaking the world record. I watched the race and I think what happened is that in the last mile, Eliud realised how close he was and slipped up into another gear. The gear-changing was a couple of seconds too late. The world record was set by Dennis Kimetto in the 2014 Berlin marathon at 2:02:57. Eliud Kipchoge finished the 2016 London marathon in 2:03:05. And what a close finish.

In Kipchoge style, he looked strong and fresh finishing the London marathon. Nobody wonders whether or not he would have crushed that record if he had kicked sooner. He would have smashed it. But the dynamics of running a marathon necessarily entails listening to your body, watching the other runners and planning your race. After all, it's not a walk in the park.

Again in the Rio marathon, when Kipchoge decided to push the race forward, he did it incrementally. The lead pack of 12 was broken down by twos. To 10 runners, to 8, then 6 finally 4. Eliud Kipchoge, two Ethiopians, Feyisa Lelisa and Lemi Berhanu, and American Galen Rupp. They subsequently dropped Berhanu and for the last couple of miles it was down to three.

Kipchoge dropped Lelisa and Rupp with his constant injection of speed. Rupp was the first to fall back, and finally Lelisa couldn't sustain the increased pace. Not just the increased pace. But the increased pace after two hours of running. Eliud Kipchoge looked like he was just getting going. His face stuck in a permanent smile, enjoying a run. Not a sign of pain, or stress anywhere.

He's 31 years old, so he has another Olympics left inside him. But at the level he's performed at, and he continues to perform at, one wonders if he can maintain the pace.

Since he's switched from the track events to the road racing events, he's won seven of the last eight races he's competed in.

And another thing. I would have thought that running a marathon in April was too close to the Olympics - in August. But Kipchoge was interviewed about that strategy, to which his intelligent response was that he needed to keep his fitness by getting involved in races.

By running the Olympics, Eliud Kipchoge has possibly put himself out of running the Fall/Autumn races. Berlin, Chicago or New York. There are probably non-monetary benefits to being the Olympic champion, that will be useful for Kipchoge later in life.

He is the second Kenyan to win an Olympic gold medal in the marathon. One would think, given Kenya's success in the world major's, the country would have had a streak of winners. But that's not the case. It hasn't been the case. The first ever gold medal in the Olympics was in 2008, Beijing, when Sammy Wanjiru won gold in spectacular style.

In 2016, Kenya has won both the men's and women's gold medals.

On a sidenote, Kenya had three runners in this race. Wesley Korir and Stanley Biwott did not finish.