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Kipchoge poised for great Bekele showdown
It's already been dubbed one of the greatest sporting showdowns. Ali v
Frazier; Federer v Djokovic; Kipchoge v Bekele.
Perhaps. Sporting history is littered with predicted 'greatest ever'
head-to-head clashes that never quite materialised in the heat of contest.
But this one certainly has the credentials: the two fastest marathon men of
all time, separated by just two seconds on paper, by two strides on the
road; one the Olympic champion, world-record holder, four-time London
champion and barrier-breaking sub-two-hour history maker; the other a
former track legend, multi-world-record breaker and three-time Olympic gold
medallist who's finally found his marathon legs lurking beneath his
astonishing talent.
For Eliud Kipchoge, a man who appears to have done it all over 26.2 miles,
the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 4 October represents yet
another chance to make road running history by becoming the first
able-bodied athlete in 40 editions to win the London title five times.
That, said the 35-year-old Kenyan today, would be "a fantastic
achievement".
"I am feeling well and very happy to be back to run for my fifth title,"
said the ever-relaxed Kipchoge. "I think the race will be a really fruitful
one for us on Sunday and a fast race.
"I am very happy to come here and race Kenenisa after such a long time. It
will be great to be able to enjoy racing again and bring some hope."
Twitter: This 17 year old rivalry...
For Bekele, it's a chance to finally prove himself in the British capital
where his previous attempts at victory have resulted in second, third and
sixth-place finishes.
In the meantime, the 38-year-old Ethiopian has won the Berlin Marathon
twice, most recently 12 months ago when he came within two seconds of the
2:01:39 world record set by his Kenyan rival a year before.
He'd run fast before, of course – 2:03:03 in Berlin in 2016 – but after a
series of injuries and dropped-out races, Bekele admits that near
world-record victory finally made him believe he could be the man to topple
the marathon king.
"We have both been in the sport for a long time and are role models for the
younger generation," he said. "As an athlete I have great respect for
Eliud. What he has done is a great thing for the sport.
"But now we are racing against each other and I am happy to be doing that.
Missing his record by two seconds took discipline, discipline, and that's
what it will take to beat him."
No athlete has more discipline than Kipchoge, of course, a man famed for
his monk-like lifestyle and laser-beam focus. The form book certainly
points to another Kipchoge victory – he has not lost a single marathon race
for seven years, after all, and has been defeated just once in 12 official
contests.
His record in London is spotless. Not only has he won all four of his races
here but he has twice broken the course record, most recently running
2:02:37 in April 2019, a contest that saw two men go under 2:03 for the
first time.
On paper, the pair are evenly matched. They're the only two ever to run
under 2:02 and between them hold seven of the fastest 20 times in history.
But Kipchoge has come out on top on all four occasions they have met over
the distance – twice in London, once in Chicago and once in Berlin.
It was a different story on the track, however, where Bekele held an
eight-two advantage at 5,000m between 2003 and 2012 and finished ahead in
their only encounter at 10,000m in 2011.
The form book often lies, of course, and in 2020 there are more reasons
than most to suggest this will be an unpredictable race – perhaps "the most
unpredictable ever", according to Event Director Hugh Brasher.
Chief cause of that uncertainty is the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, which
has disrupted sporting calendars, athletes' training and racing plans, and
led to the cancellation of every other Abbott World Marathon Majors race
this year bar Tokyo.
Indeed, Kipchoge described the enforced need to prepare alone this year as
"like an electric shock" after 17 seasons training with a squad of up to 20
talented teammates.
Twitter: "I've never seen the pace slow down..."
"It was really difficult when I had to train on my own," he said. "It was
hard to get fit and to a high level of training. But lately we have
consolidated a bigger team around me and training has been good."
For Bekele too, preparation has not been "as perfect as I planned". "More
or less I have trained well, but it has been really difficult in Africa
generally, so it has affected us a lot," he said.
The necessary Covid restrictions and vigilant safety measures also mean The
40th Race is a London Marathon like no other. Kipchoge may have won the
title four times, but the new 'biosecure' looped course around St James's
Park will be as unfamiliar to him as it is to the rest of the field.
True to form, however, the ever-undaunted Kenyan says he's relishing the
chance to attack his world record on such flat terrain, a route not too
dissimilar to the Vienna course where he ran the historic yet ineligible
time of 1:59:40 a year ago.
"I am really looking forward to Sunday's race after 11 months and 18 days
[of not racing]," he said. "I am very happy to be back.
"Sunday will be a different race from Vienna, of course. I think running
laps like this will be OK. We will be able to access more drinks than
normal so that will help.
"I don't think the focus will change, though, we are all doing the same
laps with the same pacemakers after all.
"But the crowd normally plays a massive role in the marathon and Sunday
will be difficult because it will have a silent feel. It's important people
can watch us virtually and stay safe."
"It is really nice to have crowds around, especially in the marathon,"
agreed Bekele. "When you are running for two hours without crowds it will
be difficult, but we know it's important everyone stays healthy. It is a
bad time for everyone so we all have to accept it."
As for how fast the pair may run, something around 61 minutes at halfway
"would be OK", according to Kipchoge, while Bekele says he's "not planning
anything".
"More or less I can guess it's going to be really fast," he added. "I've
never known a slow pace in London, especially when Kipchoge is there. We
know it will be fast from the start."
However quick, it's unlikely just to be a two-man race as there are several
other distinguished names in the men's field of 41, including six who have
broken 2:05.
Among them are the Ethiopian pair who came second and third in 2019,
Mosinet Geremew and Mule Wasihun, plus 2018 runner-up Shura Kitata, and
last year's Rotterdam and Amsterdam champions, Marius Kipserem and Vincent
Kipchumba, both from Kenya.
Certainly, neither Kipchoge nor Bekele are taking anything for granted.
"It's a new course that no one has run on before so it's difficult to say
if it's really fast or not. Anything is possible," said Bekele. "It's never
easy to run on curves for such a long way, you can lose some speed
sometimes. We'll just have to see on Sunday."
The elite men's race starts at 10:15 on Sunday 4 October.
- 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon Elite Race Fields
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